Kevan Shokat

Kevan Shokat at UCSF discovered the Switch-II pocket in KRAS G12C using fragment-based screening, enabling the covalent KRAS G12C inhibitor approach that led to sotorasib and adagrasib. His invention of the analog-sensitive kinase allele technology revolutionized the ability to study kinase function in cells using chemical genetics. His laboratory has contributed to understanding the druggability of GTPases and the mechanisms by which covalent KRAS G12C inhibitors work. His discovery of the KRAS drugging approach is considered one of the most impactful achievements in cancer chemical biology of the past decade.