Having received his M.Sc. in Chemistry and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences under the mentorship of Juergen Rohr at the University of Goettingen, Germany, and at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), respectively, Uwe joined the group of Giulio Superti-Furga at Cellzome and later at the Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) in Vienna, Austria. During his postdoctoral studies, he specialized in chemical proteomics, a postgenomic, mass spectrometry-based adaptation of drug affinity chromatography that allows for the cell-specific characterization of drug-protein interactions. He characterized the protein target profiles of the paradigmatic tyrosine kinase inhibitors imatinib, dasatinib and several other kinase inhibitors in cancer cells. Building on this core expertise, he combined this technology with cell-based drug screening and complementary proteomics methods, such as phosphoproteomics, to identify the complex molecular mechanisms of various drugs in leukemia, Ewing’s sarcoma and lung cancer and derived novel rational drug combination approaches with enhanced anticancer potential. In 2011, Uwe joined the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, as Faculty in the Department of Drug Discovery and the Molecular Medicine (MM) Program. At Moffitt, he is applying systems chemical biology approaches, in particular small molecule phenotypic screening in combination with chemical and functional proteomics, to identify novel drug targets and avenues for targeting cancer with single targeted agents and drug combinations, which may overcome primary and adaptive resistance and several of which have been translated into clinical trials.
