Jim Kiefer
Senior Scientist and Associate Director, Structural Biology
"Cancer and autoimmune diseases are prevalent among my family and friends. I am here, because I would like to fight back."
7
Years at Genentech
20
Publications
My path to Genentech began in the Midwest, working at Searle, Pharmacia, and Pfizer for 12 years, in structure based drug design. Looking from the outside in, I had always been struck by how Genentech was consistently leading, rather than following, in the discovery of new medicines. I have been even more impressed by the culture and innovation here since joining in 2012.
I am structural biologist, but I think of myself as a “molecular photographer.” We determine the shapes of proteins bound to chemicals on the path to potentially becoming drugs and try to improve that interaction. The technique has broad applications from traditional, “small molecule” drugs to protein therapeutics. My primary interests involve pathways triggering cancer and inflammation.
SUMMARY OF PUBLICATIONS (PDF)Featured Publication
A minor structural change to tertiary sulfonamide RORc ligands led to agonist and inverse agonist mechanisms of action.
ACS Med Chem Lett 6(3):276-281, 2015.
René O, Fauber BP, de Leon Boenig G, Burton B, Eidenschenk C, Everett C, Gobbi A, Hymowitz SG, Johnson AR, Kiefer JR, Liimatta M, Lockey P, Norman M, Ouyang W, Wallweber HA, Wong H.
My Focus
My role at Genentech has encompassed three different facets. I have been the project leader for a target in the small molecule inflammation portfolio; I provide structures and analysis of them to teams, and I manage one arm of the Structural Biology Department. One of the aspects that I enjoy most about my position at Genentech is the diversity of experiences in my work each week.
I have primarily worked in areas relating to cancer and immunology and was part of the Joint Project Team in Genentech’s and Constellation Pharmaceuticals’ collaboration on Epigenetics research. I have a long-term interest in DNA replication and repair and gene regulation.
Publications
Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, ISSN: 15734951 0920654X
Eva Nittinger; Paul Gibbons; Charles Eigenbrot; Douglas R. Davies; Brigitte Maurer; Christine Yu; James Kiefer; Andreas Kuglstatter; Jeremy Murray; Dan Ortwine; Yong Tang; Vickie Tsui
Unexpected equivalent potency of a constrained chromene enantiomeric pair rationalized by co-crystal structures in complex with estrogen receptor alpha
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 0960894X
Birong Zhang; James Kiefer; Robert Blake; Jae H. Chang; Steven J. Hartman; Ellen Ingalla; Tracy Kleinheinz; Vidhi Mody; Michelle Nannini; Dan Ortwine; Yingqing Ran; Amy Sambrone; Deepak Sampath; Maia Vinogradova; Yu Zhong Yao; Jerome C. Nwachukwu; Kendall W. Nettles; Tommy Lai; Jiangpeng Liao; Xiaoping Zheng; Hai Chen; Xiaojing Wang; Jun Liang
Nature, ISSN: 14764687 00280836
Hoangdung Ho; Anh Miu; Mary Kate Alexander; Natalie K. Garcia; Angela Oh; Inna Zilberleyb; Mike Reichelt; Cary Austin; Christine Tam; Stephanie Shriver; Huiyong Hu; Sharada Labadie; Jun Liang; Lan Wang; Jian Wang; Yan Lu; Hans Purkey; John Quinn; Yvonne Franke; Kevin Clark; Maureen Beresini; Man Wah Tan; Ben Sellers; Till Maurer; Michael F. T. Koehler; Aaron Wecksler; James Kiefer; Vishal Verma; Yiming Xu; Mireille Nishiyama; Jian Payandeh; Chris Koth
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 19485875
Terry Crawford; James E. Audia; Steve Bellon; Dan Burdick; Archana Bommi-Reddy; Alexandre Côté; Richard T Cummings; Martin Duplessis; Megan Flynn; Michael C. Hewitt; Hon-Ren Huang; Hariharan Jayaram; Ying Jiang; Shivangi Joshi; James Kiefer; Jeremy Murray; Christopher G. Nasveschuk; Adrianne Neiss; Eneida Pardo; Anthony Romero; Peter Sandy; Robert J. Sims; Yong Tang; Alexander M. Taylor; Vickie Tsui; Jian Wang; Shumei Wang; Yongyun Wang; Zhaowu Xu; Laura E. Zawadzke; Xiaoqin Zhu; Brian K Albrecht; Steven Magnuson; Andrea Cochran
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 14643405
Terry Crawford; Steffan Vartanian; Alexandre Côté; Steve Bellon; Martin Duplessis; Megan Flynn; Michael C. Hewitt; Hon-Ren Huang; James Kiefer; Jeremy Murray; Christopher G. Nasveschuk; Eneida Pardo; Anthony Romero; Peter Sandy; Yong Tang; Alexander M. Taylor; Vickie Tsui; Jian Wang; Shumei Wang; Laura E. Zawadzke; Brian K Albrecht; Steven Magnuson; Andrea Cochran; David Stokoe
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 14643405
Jun Liang; Sharada Labadie; Birong Zhang; Dan Ortwine; Snahel Patel; Maia Vinogradova; James Kiefer; Till Mauer; Victor S Gehling; Jean-Christophe Harmange; Richard T Cummings; Tommy Lai; Jiangpeng Liao; Xiaoping Zheng; Yichin Liu; Amy Gustafson; Erica VanderPorten; Weifeng Mao; Bianca Liederer; Gauri Deshmukh; Le An; Yingqing Ran; Marie Classon; Patrick Trojer; Peter Dragovich; Lesley Murray
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, ISSN: 15204804
Terry Crawford; Anthony Romero; Kwong Wah Lai; Vickie Tsui; Alexander M. Taylor; Gladys Boenig; Cameron Noland; Jeremy Murray; Justin Ly; Edna Choo; Thomas Hunsaker; Emily W. Chan; Mark Merchant; Samir Kharbanda; Karen Gascoigne; Sue Kaufman; Maureen Beresini; Jiangpeng Liao; Wenfeng Liu; Kevin Chen; Zhongguo Chen; Andrew R. Conery; Alexandre Côté; Hariharan Jayaram; Ying Jiang; James Kiefer; Tracy Kleinheinz; Yingjie Li; Jonathan Maher; Eneida Pardo; Florence Poy; Kerry L. Spillane; Fei Wang; Jian Wang; Xiaocang Wei; Zhaowu Xu; Zhongya Xu; Ivana Yen; Laura E. Zawadzke; Xiaoyu Zhu; Steve Bellon; Richard T Cummings; Andrea Cochran; Brian K Albrecht; Steven Magnuson
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 14643405
Sharada Labadie; Peter Dragovich; Richard T Cummings; Gauri Deshmukh; Amy Gustafson; Ning Han; Jean-Christophe Harmange; James Kiefer; Yue Li; Jun Liang; Bianca Liederer; Yichin Liu; Wanda Manieri; Wiefeng Mao; Lesley Murray; Dan Ortwine; Patrick Trojer; Erica VanderPorten; Maia Vinogradova; Li Wen
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 14643405
Jun Liang; Birong Zhang; Sharada Labadie; Dan Ortwine; Maia Vinogradova; James Kiefer; Victor S Gehling; Jean-Christophe Harmange; Richard T Cummings; Tommy Lai; Jiangpeng Liao; Xiaoping Zheng; Yichin Liu; Amy Gustafson; Erica VanderPorten; Weifeng Mao; Bianca Liederer; Gauri Deshmukh; Marie Classon; Patrick Trojer; Peter Dragovich; Lesley Murray
Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews, ISSN: 18790305
Sascha Rutz; Celine Eidenschenk; James Kiefer; Wenjun Ouyang
Nature Chemical Biology, ISSN: 15524469
Maia Vinogradova; Victor S Gehling; Amy Gustafson; Shilpi Arora; Charles Tindell; Catherine Wilson; Kaylyn E Williamson; Gulfem Guler; Pranoti Gangurde; Wanda Manieri; Jennifer Busby; Megan Flynn; Fei Lan; Hyo-jin Kim; Shobu Odate; Andrea Cochran; Yichin Liu; Matthew Wongchenko; Yibin Yang; Tommy K Cheung; Tobias Maile; Ted Lau; Mike Costa; Ganapati Hegde; Erica Jackson; Bob Pitti; David Arnott; Christopher Bailey; Steve Bellon; Richard T Cummings; Brian K Albrecht; Jean-Christophe Harmange; James Kiefer; Patrick Trojer; Marie Classon
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 19485875
Philippe Bergeron; Michael Koehler; Beth Blackwood; Krista Bowman; Kevin Clark; Ron Firestein; James Kiefer; Klaus Maskos; Mark McCleland; Linda Orren; Sreema Ramaswamy; Laurent Salphati; Steve Schmidt; Elisabeth V. Schneider; Jiansheng Wu; Maureen Beresini
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, ISSN: 15204804
Terry Crawford; Vickie Tsui; Megan Flynn; Shumei Wang; Alexander M. Taylor; Alexandre Côté; James E. Audia; Maureen Beresini; Dan Burdick; Richard T Cummings; Leslie A. Dakin; Martin Duplessis; Andrew C. Good; Michael C. Hewitt; Hon-Ren Huang; Hariharan Jayaram; James Kiefer; Ying Jiang; Jeremy Murray; Christopher G. Nasveschuk; Eneida Pardo; Florence Poy; Anthony Romero; Yong Tang; Jian Wang; Zhaowu Xu; Laura E. Zawadzke; Xiaoyu Zhu; Brian K Albrecht; Steven Magnuson; Steve Bellon; Andrea Cochran
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 19485875
Alexander M. Taylor; Alexandre Côté; Michael C. Hewitt; Rich Pastor; Yves Leblanc; Christopher G. Nasveschuk; Anthony Romero; Terry Crawford; Nico Cantone; Hariharan Jayaram; Jeremy Setser; Jeremy Murray; Maureen Beresini; Gladys Boenig; Zhongguo Chen; Andrew R. Conery; Richard T Cummings; Leslie A. Dakin; Megan Flynn; Oscar Huang; Sue Kaufman; Patricia J. Keller; James Kiefer; Tommy Lai; Yingjie Li; Jiangpeng Liao; Wenfeng Liu; Henry Lu; Eneida Pardo; Vickie Tsui; Jian Wang; Yongyun Wang; Zhaowu Xu; Fen Yan; Dong Yu; Laura E. Zawadzke; Xiaoqin Zhu; Xiaoyu Zhu; Robert J. Sims; Andrea Cochran; Steve Bellon; James E. Audia; Steven Magnuson; Brian K Albrecht
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 19485875
Michael Koehler; Philippe Bergeron; Beth Blackwood; Krista Bowman; Kevin Clark; Ron Firestein; James Kiefer; Klaus Maskos; Mark McCleland; Linda Orren; Laurent Salphati; Steve Schmidt; Elisabeth V. Schneider; Jiansheng Wu; Maureen Beresini
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 19485875
Olivier Rene; Benjamin Fauber; Gladys Boenig; Brenda Burton; Celine Eidenschenk; Christine Everett; Alberto Gobbi; Sarah Hymowitz; Adam Johnson; James Kiefer; Marya Liimatta; Peter Lockey; Maxine Norman; Wenjun Ouyang; Heidi Ackerly Wallweber; Harvey Wong
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 14643405
Monique B. Van Niel; Benjamin Fauber; Matthew Cartwright; Simon Gaines; Jonathan C. Killen; Olivier Rene; Stuart I. Ward; Gladys Boenig; Yuzhong Deng; Celine Eidenschenk; Christine Everett; Emanuela Gancia; Arunima Ganguli; Alberto Gobbi; Julie Hawkins; Adam Johnson; James Kiefer; Hank La; Peter Lockey; Maxine Norman; Wenjun Ouyang; Ann Qin; Nicole Wakes; Bohdan Waszkowycz; Harvey Wong
Structure, ISSN: 09692126
Jerome C. Nwachukwu; Mark R. Southern; James Kiefer; Pavel V. Afonine; Paul D. Adams; Thomas C. Terwilliger; Kendall W. Nettles
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, ISSN: 0960894X
John I. Trujillo; James Kiefer; Wei Huang; Jacqueline E. Day; Joseph Moon; Gina M. Jerome; Christine P. Bono; Christine M. Kornmeier; Melanie L. Williams; Cyrille Kuhn; Glen R. Rennie; Thomas A. Wynn; Christopher P. Carron; Atli Thorarensen
Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications, ISSN: 17443091
Troii Hall; Huey-Sheng Shieh; Jacqueline E. Day; Nicole Caspers; Jill E. Chrencik; Jennifer M. Williams; Lyle E. Pegg; Adele M. Pauley; Andrea F. Moon; Joseph M. Krahn; David H. Fischer; James Kiefer; Alfredo G. Tomasselli; Marc D. Zack
Education
- Searle / Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO, postdoctoral fellow, – 2000
- Duke University, Durham, NC, Ph.D., – 1998
- Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, B.S., – 1992
- Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, B.A., – 1992
- L’Universite de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, 3eme Degre, – 1989
