Biography

• 2025-now: Qiantang-Boya Distinguished Professor, Peking University

• 2022-now: Executive Editor, ACS Chemical Biology, American Chemical Society

• 2020-now: Director, Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, Peking University

• 2021-now: Director, Division of Chemical Biology, Chinese Chemical Society

• 2015-2024: Chairman, Department of Chemical Biology, Peking University

• 2014-now: Professor, Department of Chemical Biology, Peking University

• 2011-2015: Investigator, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences

• 2009-2014: Investigator, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry, Peking University

• 2007-2009: Postdoctoral Fellow, the Scripps Research Institute, Advisor: Prof. Peter G. Schultz

• 2002-2007: Ph.D in Chemistry (2007), University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

• 1998-2002: B.S. in Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing, China

• 1999-2002: B.S. Double degree in Economics, Peking University, Beijing, China

Research Interests

We work at the interface of chemistry and biology. Centered around leveraging the live-cell chemistry for mechanistic discovery and therapeutic innovations, we have developed bioorthogonal reactions and chemical probes to understand protein functions and cell communications in health and disease. We employ this toolkit to study how the spatial-temporally organized human proteome is rewired in cancer as well as during immune response, and we also exploit the therapeutic potential of these new discoveries. Research areas in the group include:

1. Bioorthogonal Cleavage Reactions

2. Bioorthogonal Proteomics 

3. Bioorthogonal Therapeutics 

4. Immuno-Chemical Biology

Teaching

• Introduction to Chemical Biology

• Chemical Biology

Awards

• 2025：EFMC-WuXi AppTec Award for Excellence in Chemical Biology

• 2023: The Science and Technology Innovation Award, Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation

• 2023: New Cornerstone Investigator

• 2020: National Award for Natural Sciences of China

• 2010: Fellow, Chinese Chemical Society

• 2019: Natural Science Award, Ministry of Education, China

• 2019: XPLORER Prize

• 2019: C.C. Tan Life Science Award

• 2017: Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry (SBIC) Early Career Award

• 2016: Tan Kah Kee Young Scientist Award

• 2016: Young Scientist Award, Ministry of Education (China)

• 2016: OKeanos-CAPA Young Investigator Award at the Chemistry and Biology Interface

• 2015: China Association for Instrumental Analysis (CAIA) Award

• 2015: The Chemical Society of Japan Distinguished Lectureship Award

• 2015: Young Science and Technology Innovation Talents

• 2014: Roche Chinese Young Investigator Award

• 2014: (RSC) Chem Soc Rev Emerging Investigator Lectureship

• 2014: CAPA Biomatik Distinguished Faculty Award

Selected Publications

1. Han Y, Ma Y, Pei M, Yin S, Wang J, Guo L, Fang Y, Guo W, Deng C, Zhao S, Lu X, Xi J*, Zhang H*, Chen P*, “Intratumoral vaccine by checkpoint degradation-coupled antigen presentation”, Nature, (2025), DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09903-1.

2. Liu J, Yan X, Wu H, Ji Z, Shan Y, Wang X, Ran U, Ma Y, Li C, Zhu Y, Gu R, Han W, Yi C*, Chen P*, “RNA codon expansion via programmable pseudouridine editing and decoding”, Nature, (2025), 643, 1410-20.

3. Zhu R, Zhang H*, Chen P*, “Targeted protein degradation in the transmembrane and extracellular space”, Science, (2025), DOI: 10.1126/science.adx5094

4. Wang X, Liu Y, Wang Z, Zeng X, Ngai WSC, Wang J, Zhang H, Xie X, Zhu R, Fan X, Wang C*, Chen P*, “Machine-learning-assisted universal protein activation in living mice”, Cell, (2025),188, 3696-3714.

5. Li K, Xie X, Gao R, Chen Z, Yang M, Wen Z, Weng Y, Fan X, Zhang G, Liu L, Zeng X, Han Y, Cao M, Wang X, Li J, Yang Z, Li T, Chen P*, “Spatial-temporal protein interactome profiling through condensation enhanced photo-crosslinking”, Nat. Chem., (2025), 17, 111-23.

6. Weng Y, Chen W, Kong Q, Wang R, Zeng R, He A, Liu Y, Mao Y, Qin Y, Ngai WSC, Zhang H, Wang J, Ke M, Tian R*, Chen P*. “DeKinomics pulse-chases kinase functions in living cells”, Nat. Chem. Biol. (2024), 20, 615-23.

7. Lin F, Yin S, Zhang Z, Yu Y, Fang H, Liang Z, Zhu R, Zhou H, Li J, Cao K, Guo W, Qin S, Zhang Y, Lu C, Li H, Liu S, Zhang H, Ye B, Lin J*, Li Y*, Kang X*, Xi J*, Chen P*, “Multimodal targeting chimeras enable integrated immunotherapy leveraging tumor-immune microenvironment”, Cell, (2024), 187, 7470-91.

8. Zhu Y, Ding W, Fan X*, Lin S*, Chen P*, “Genetically encoded bioorthogonal tryptophan decaging in living cells”, Nat. Chem., (2024), 16, 533-42.

9. Qin F*, Li B, Wang H, Ma S, Li J, Liu S, Kong L, Zheng H, Zhu R, Han Y, Yang M, Li K, Ji X*, Chen P*. “Linking chromatin acylation mark-defined proteome and genome in living cells”, Cell, (2023), 186, 1066-85.

10. Wang J, Liu Y, Liu YJ, Zheng S, Wang X, Zhao J, Yang F, Zhang G, Wang C*, Chen P*. “Time-resolved protein activation by proximal decaging in living systems”. Nature, (2019), 569, 509-13.

11.  Li J, Jia S, Chen P*. “Diels-Alder reaction-triggered bioorthogonal protein activation in living cells”, Nat. Chem. Biol., (2014), 10, 1003-5.

12. Li J, Yu J, Zhao J , Wang J, Zheng S, Lin S, Chen L, Yang M, Jia S, Zhang X, Chen P*. “Palladium-triggered deprotection chemistry for protein activation in living cells”, Nat. Chem. (2014), 6, 352-61.