Prof. Xuechen LI

Award Citation

Prof. Xuechen Li has formulated a sound, vibrant research program and make critical impacts in his research field. He made significant contributions to the field of peptide/protein science with his pioneering work for protein chemical synthesis and modification, and cyclic peptide antibiotics synthesis. He is a pioneer in precision-synthesis of biomacromolecules (peptide/protein and glycans) in chemical biology field. His pioneered work on Ser/Thr ligation is considered as a breakthrough in the field of protein chemical synthesis and modification. This method has been widely adopted by both academia and industries for the synthesis of peptides/proteins and structurally complex cyclic peptides. The success and promise of Ser/Thr ligation in synthetic protein chemistry have been highlighted by Faculty 1000Prime (2013) and the Cutting Edge of Chemistry from Thompson Reuters (2013). Subsequently, he has developed other innovative methods, including Cys/Pen ligation, superfast peptide desulfurization and OPA-protein bioconjugation. Exquisite control of protein synthesis enabled by Prof. Li’s methodologies has not only advanced our understanding of fundamental biological processes regulated by various key protein player, but also allowed efficient generation of peptide- and protein-based biologic drugs as the therapeutical agents for the treatment of life-threatening human diseases. These innovative methods to synthesize and modify peptides/proteins open up new avenues for studying the chemical biology and medicinal chemistry of peptides and proteins. They will provide new possibilities for synthesizing biologics with new functional activities for a wide range of applications as well as in understanding the biology of such proteins. For his unusual original contributions to the precision-synthesis of biomolecules, he received the prestigious Rao Makineni Award from American Peptide Society in 2019, the Cathay Award from Chinese Peptide Society in 2020, and the Contribution Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry from Chinese Chemical Society in 2023.