Kannan Karukurichi

Kannan Karukurichi has over 20 years of work experience in the field of scientific research and drug discovery. Kannan started their career as a graduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where they focused on the development of mechanism-based inactivators for amino acid decarboxylases. After completing their graduate studies, they joined JHMI as a postdoctoral fellow, where they specialized in mechanistic enzymology and protein semisynthesis. During their time at JHMI, they developed a novel method for site-specific acetylation in histone acetyltransferase (HAT) domains.

Karukurichi then joined Acylin Therapeutics Inc as a Senior Scientist, where they played a crucial role in the discovery and development of small molecule inhibitors for histone acetyltransferases. Their responsibilities included overexpression and purification of HATs, development and optimization of biochemical HAT assays, small-molecule inhibitor screening, SAR studies, and development of cell-based assays. Notably, the p300 HAT program at Acylin Therapeutics was acquired by AbbVie.

After their time at Acylin Therapeutics, Karukurichi worked at RAY & FRED HUTCHISON as a Staff Scientist, where they focused on the study of natural defense mechanisms against pathogens using knottins, a class of small proteins with unique structural characteristics. Kannan then joined Petra Pharma Corporation as a Senior Scientist, where they worked until 2020. Finally, they joined Loxo Oncology at Lilly in 2020 as a Senior Principal Scientist.

Overall, Kannan Karukurichi has a strong background in scientific research, drug discovery, enzymology, and protein engineering, making him highly skilled and experienced in their field.

Kannan Karukurichi received their Ph.D in Chemistry (organic/biochemistry) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where they studied from 1999 to 2006. Prior to that, they earned their M.Sc in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where they studied from 1997 to 1999. Additionally, Kannan has obtained a certification in ACS Reviewer Lab from the American Chemical Society.