Wendell Lim

Wendell Lim, Ph.D., is interested in understanding how genetically encoded molecular programs can yield the remarkable behaviors observed in biological organisms, at multiple scales. He received his undergraduate degree at Harvard University and a doctoral degree at MIT, as well as completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. Now chair and professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at UC San Francisco, Lim began his research career as a biophysical chemist and structural biologist studying problems such as the evolutionary optimization of enzymes, how protein structure is encoded in sequence, and the determinants of protein-protein interaction specificity. His research has gradually shifted towards utilizing this mechanistic understanding of molecules as a foundation to study how systems of interacting molecules assemble to yield cellular or organismal signaling behaviors – complex behaviors in both space and time. His lab is interested in both the fundamental principles governing these molecular programs, as well as the way such programs have evolved. How to identify the most relevant functional modules at various scales of biology is an ongoing but fascinating challenge. We have also become interested in using synthetic biology and our growing understanding of molecular networks to engineer cells with novel behaviors, such as therapeutic immune cells programmed to recognize and treat cancer or other diseases. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Lim is director of the UCSF Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, and is the scientific founder of Cell Design Labs, a company pioneering advanced cell therapies.

Professor and chair, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology; HHMI investigator; and director, UCSF Center for Systems & Synthetic Biology