John Williams, Ph.D.
1990, B.S., University of California, Santa Cruz
1993, M.Phil., M.S., Chemistry, Columbia University, Columbus, OH
1995, Ph.D., Chemistry, Columbia University, Columbus, OH, Mentor: Ann E. McDermott, PI
Columbia University
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Our research primarily focuses on structural and biophysical methods to identify sources of energy additivity and multivalency in macromolecular complexes and use these properties to develop new tools and novel therapeutics. Based on an ‘atoms-up’ approach, my research team and I have developed chemically-induced molecular traps (Varma, 2010), tumor-activated, masked antibodies (Donaldson, 2009), and monoclonal antibody (mAb) technology called meditopes (Donaldson, 2013, Bzymek 2018, King 2018). One of our most successful efforts to date, the generation of a tumor-activated, anti-CTLA4 mAb, is now in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial at Xilio Therapeutics, a company co-founded by Dr. Williams.
Pevman Arvanour
Post-doctoral Fellow
paryanpur@coh.org
Genevieve Baker
Post-doctoral Fellow
gbaker@coh.org
Claudia Barahona
Post-doctoral Fellow
clbarahona@coh.org
Hyeran Choi
Research Associate II
hychoi@coh.org
Matthew Craft
Post-doctoral Fellow
mcraft@coh.org
Amanda Duplan
lrell& Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences Ph.D. Student
aduplan@coh.org
Asaul Gonzalez
Research Associate II
asgonzalez@coh.org
Juliet Gonzales
lrell& Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences Ph.D. Student
jugonzales@coh.org
SM Yead Murshed Jewel
Post-doctoral Fellow
sjewel@coh.org
Vaneet Khullar
Research Associate I
vkhullar@coh.org
Ma. Carmina Ladra
Research Associate II
mladra@coh.org
Kevin Ly
Research Associate II
kly@coh.org
Conn Mallett
Assistant Research Professor, X-Ray Crystallography Core
cmallett@coh.org
Zoe Navapanich
Research Associate I
znavapanich@coh.org
Bea Joyce Parcutela
Research Associate I
bparcutela@coh.org
Miso Park
Assistant Research Professor
mipark@coh.org
Tynan Young
Post-doctoral Fellow
tyoung@coh.org
- Kuo, Y.C., Kuo, C.F., Jenkins, K., Hung, A.F.-H., Chang, W.-C., Park, M., Aguila, B., Starr, B., Hibbard, J., Brown, C., & Williams, J.C. Antibody-based redirection of universal Fabrack-CAR T cells selectively kill antigen-bearing tumor cells. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Jun;10(6):e003752. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003752.PMID: 35728874
- King, J.D., Ma, Y., Kuo, Y.C., Bzymek, K.P., Goodstein, L.H., Meyer, K., Moore, R.E., Crow, D., Colcher, D.M., Singh, G., Horne, D.A., & Williams, J.C. Template-Catalyzed, Disulfide Conjugation of Monoclonal Antibodies Using a Natural Amino Acid Tag. Bioconjug Chem. 2018 Jun 20;29(6):2074-2081. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.8b00284. Epub 2018 May 25. PubMed PMID: 29763554; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6823927.
- Bzymek, K.P., Puckett, J.W., Zer, C., Xie, J., Ma, Y., King, J.D., Goodstein, L.H., Avery, K.N., Colcher, D., Singh, G., Horne, D.A., & Williams, J.C. Mechanically interlocked functionalization of monoclonal antibodies. Nat Commun. 2018 Apr 20;9(1):1580. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03976-5. PubMed PMID: 29679060; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5910394.
- Donaldson, J.M, Zer, C., Avery, K.N., Bzymek, K.P., Horne, D.A., & Williams, J.C. Identification and grafting of a unique peptide-binding site in the Fab framework of monoclonal antibodies. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013 Oct 22;110(43):17456-61. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1307309110. Epub 2013 Oct 7. PubMed PMID: 24101516; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3808661.
- Buettner, R., Corzano, R., Rashid, R., Lin, J., Senthil, M., Hedvat, M., Schroeder, A., Mao, A., Herrmann, A., Yim, J., Li, H., Yuan, Y.C., Yakushijin, K., Yakushijin, F., Vaidehi, N., Moore, R., Gugiu, G., Lee, T.D., Yip, R., Chen, Y., Jove, R., Horne, D., & Williams, J.C. Alkylation of cysteine 468 in Stat3 defines a novel site for therapeutic development. ACS Chem Biol. 2011 May 20;6(5):432-43. doi: 10.1021/cb100253e. Epub 2011 Feb 16. PubMed PMID: 21226522; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3098940.
- Donaldson, J.M., Kari, C., Fragoso, R.C., Rodeck, U., & Williams, J.C. Design and development of masked therapeutic antibodies to limit off-target effects: application to anti-EGFR antibodies. Cancer Biol Ther. 2009 Nov;8(22):2147-52. doi: 10.4161/cbt.8.22.9765. Epub 2009 Nov 7. PubMed PMID: 19783899; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3546534.
- Williams, J.C., Roulhac, P.L., Roy, A.G., Vallee, R.B., Fitzgerald, M.C., & Hendrickson, W.A. Structural and thermodynamic characterization of a cytoplasmic dynein light chain-intermediate chain complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2007 Jun 12;104(24):10028-33. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0703614104. Epub 2007 Jun 5. PubMed PMID: 17551010; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1885999.
- Varma, D., Dawn, A., Ghosh-Roy, A., Weil, S.J., Ori-McKenney, K.M., Zhao, Y., Keen, J., Vallee, R.B., & Williams, J.C. Development and application of in vivo molecular traps reveals that dynein light chain occupancy differentially affects dynein-mediated processes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010 Feb 23;107(8):3493-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0908959107. Epub 2010 Feb 4. PubMed PMID: 20133681; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2840451.
- Williams, J.C., Wierenga, R.K., & Saraste, M. Insights into Src kinase functions: structural comparisons. Trends Biochem Sci. 1998 May;23(5):179-84. doi: 10.1016/s0968-0004(98)01202-x. Review. PubMed PMID: 9612082.