Pete Gabriel L. Ledesma

Biography

Pete finished his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines - Diliman in 2022. He worked under Prof. Ricky B. Nellas in the computer-aided drug design and synthesis planning small-molecule inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic B-Cell Lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) protein. In studying the BCL-2 protein, he learned about the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis which got me fascinated with the subject of protein-protein interactions (PPIs). During his time in the Philippines he also worked with Prof. Jonel Saludes on the synthesis and characterization of PEGylated iron oxide nanoparticles (PEG-IONPs) for drug delivery applications.

He is currently interested in learning more about PPIs and how it can be modulated using modalities beyond the small molecule paradigm in the pursuit of developing therapies to targets that are currently deemed undruggable. In the Pomerantz Lab, he would working on the development of peptide macrocycles as potential PPI inhibitors of the  kinase-inducible domain (KIX) of the transcriptional coactivator CBP. Co-mentored with Prof. Varun Gadkari, he would also be using a suite of biological mass spectrometry techniques such as native and ion-mobility MS techniques to study the interactions of peptide-KIX complexes. 

B.S. Chemistry, University of the Philippines - Diliman, 2022

Research Keywords: KIX, peptide macrocycles