Pomerantz awarded $2.3M from NIH for epigenetics research with chemical probes
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/24/2026) – The laboratory of Professor William C.K. Pomerantz recently received a $2.3 million MIRA award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The newly-funded project — titled “Chemical Probe Development for Epigenetic Complexes Enabled by Protein-Observed 19F NMR” — aims to develop new chemical approaches to dissect the molecular mechanisms associated with epigenetic complexes and transcription.
All of the cells in the human body contain the same genetic information, but we can tell with our naked eye that the cells that make up our blood are not the same as the cells that make up our skin. Epigenetics is the field of research that studies how the genes in our chromosomes are expressed, and the ways in which those genetic expressions have differing phenotypes we can observe at the cellular level. Phenotypes observable at the cellular level are the reason why we can visually and chemically differentiate between skin cells and blood cells. At the macro level, phenotypes determine skin color, hair color, and even an individual’s susceptibility to disease. Defining the mechanisms for how this regulation of gene expression occurs remains a significant challenge for the field of epigenetics. The Pomerantz lab’s program in chemical epigenetics is addressing these challenges by developing selective chemical probes and proximity-inducing molecules such as proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), defining new biomolecular interactions, and developing enabling structural biology approaches to quantify these dynamic multivalent interactions. These approaches are helping to create a more detailed picture of diverse epigenetic complexes for developing epigenetic therapies.
Over the next five years they plan to further develop their protein-observed 19F NMR (PrOF NMR) approach for enabling small molecule discovery with new proteins of therapeutic interest, including E3 ligases. They’ll also work to quantify the affinity and dynamics of large multidomain bromodomain-containing proteins associated with DNA and synthetic nucleosomes.
“Our new chemical probes for the BPTF PHD and bromodomains have potential for high impact as chemical tools for deciphering the role of the chromatin-binding domains in diverse disease contexts and may serve as starting points for the synthesis of new proximity-inducing molecules,” Pomerantz says. “More specific BRD4 chemical probes and PROTACs with improved selectivity profiles will help uncover new biology in cancer and inflammation obscured by less specific tool compounds. Findings from our prior MIRA studying the role of BRD4 in inflammation played a foundational role in helping establish our startup company BromoThera”
The team will use these chemical probes to dissect the functional roles of these bromodomains on transcription, the process of copying genetic information from DNA to RNA, including gene regulation, chromatin engagement, and novel-protein-protein interactions. Pomerantz’s work equips biomedical researchers with innovative chemical tools to study and address some of the most challenging diseases, including cancer.
About the Pomerantz Lab
William C.K. Pomerantz joined the UMN faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2012. Broadly speaking, his research program focuses on the development of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry approaches for modulating transcription factor function through disruption of protein-protein interactions. This work has applications and connections to areas including drug discovery, novel chemical probe design, and sustainable organofluorine chemistry. Pomerantz’s research group is currently made up of 14 graduate students and four undergraduates. In addition to his work in the lab, Pomerantz is a standing member of the NIH study section Chemical Biology and Probes, and serves as the co-director of the NIH T32 Chemistry Biology Interface Training Grant, an interdisciplinary program that works to provide rigorous professional and practical training to a diverse and inclusive community of biomedical scientists at the University of Minnesota. He was a recent Editor for ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, an ACS Transformative Journal, and is now an associate editor at Thieme’s new journal, Therapeutics Now.
In honor of his contributions to the department and the field of chemistry, Pomerantz has been previously recognized with honors including the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Teaching (2022), the NIH Maximizing Investigators Research Award (2021), being selected to co-lead the International Chemical Biology Society Global Council in 2020, the McKnight Presidential Fellowship in (2018), the Guillermo E. Borja Career Development Award (2018), being named a Cottrell Scholar by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (2016), the international Chemical Biology Society’s Rising Star Award (2016), the University of Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professorship (2016-2018), the Kimmel Scholar Award from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research (2015), and an NSF CAREER Award (2014).
About the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
From the NIGMS website
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS also supports research in specific clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems: anesthesiology and peri-operative pain; clinical pharmacology common to multiple drugs and treatments; and injury, critical illness, sepsis, and wound healing. NIGMS-funded scientists investigate how living systems work at a range of levels—from molecules and cells to tissues and organs—in research organisms, humans, and populations. Additionally, to ensure the vitality and continued productivity of the research enterprise, NIGMS provides leadership in supporting the training of future scientists and developing research capacity throughout the country.
NIGMS is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the principal medical research agency of the federal government and a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. With a budget of $3.2 billion in FY 2023, NIGMS supported more than 4,800 investigators, more than 5,500 research grants, and more than 5,200 research trainees. The Institute has a strong track record of funding scientists who go on to receive Nobel Prizes, including 51 in Chemistry and 46 in Physiology or Medicine.