Michael Bollong, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Chemistry

Early Career Endowed Roon Chair for Cardiovascular Research

Research Focus

Using high throughput small molecule screens coupled with downstream target identification experiments, we identify new drug-like molecules and ligandable targets to study and to therapeutically target the biological responses governing mammalian regeneration and cell stress signaling. We complement these efforts with an additional focus on developing new high throughput and molecular diversity-based methods to accelerate biological discovery. To this end, we are developing platforms for profiling inhibitor-enzyme interactions en masse, deconvoluting the cellular targets for bioactive small molecules and peptides, and leveraging the chemical diversity present in existing chemical libraries as a source of new reactivity for covalent inhibitor design.

Education

Professional Experience

Awards & Professional Activities

Select Publications

Shao, Sida; Zhang, Nan; Specht, Gregory P.; You, Shaochen; Song, Lirui; Fu, Qiangwei; Huang, David; You, Hengyao; Shu, Jian; Domissy, Alain; Li, Shuangwei; Nguyen-Tran, Van; Joseph, Sean B.; Chatterjee, Arnab K.; Chen, Jeffrey Jia J.; Schultz, Peter G.; Bollong, Michael J. Pharmacological expansion of type 2 alveolar epithelial cells promotes regenerative lower airway repair. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2024, 121, e2400077121.
Ibrahim, Lara; Stanton, Caroline; Nutsch, Kayla; Nguyen, Thu; Li-Ma, Chloris; Ko, Yeonjin; Lander, Gabriel C.; Wiseman, R Luk L.; Bollong, Michael J. Succinylation of a KEAP1 sensor lysine promotes NRF2 activation. Cell chemical biology 2023, 30, 1295-1302.e4.
Stanton, Caroline; Sun, Jie; Nutsch, Kayla; Rosarda, Jessica D.; Nguyen, Thu; Li-Ma, Chloris; Njomen, Evert; Melillo, Bruno; Kutseikin, Sergei; Saez, Enrique; Cravatt, Benjamin F.; Teijaro, John R.; Wiseman, R Luk L.; Bollong, Michael J. Covalent Targeting As a Common Mechanism for Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Assembly. ACS chemical biology 2024, 19, 254-265.
Grzelak, Edyta M.; Elshan, N G R Dayan; Shao, Sida; Bulos, Maya L.; Joseph, Sean B.; Chatterjee, Arnab K.; Chen, Jian Jeffrey J.; Nguyên-Trân, Vân; Schultz, Peter G.; Bollong, Michael J. Pharmacological YAP activation promotes regenerative repair of cutaneous wounds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2023, 120, e2305085120.
Bollong, Michael J.; Camargo, Fernando D.; Chadwick, Stormi R.; Chatterjee, Arnab; Chen, Emily I.; DeRan, Michael; Grzelak, Edyta M.; Hull, Mitchell V.; Iaconelli, Jonathan; Ibrahim, Lara; Li, Sijia; Nutsch, Kayla; Schultz, Peter G.; Shalhout, Sophia Z.; Shao, Sida; Shen, Weijun; Stanton, Caroline; Wu, Xu; Yang, Peng-Yu; Zambaldo, Claudio YAP-dependent proliferation by a small molecule targeting annexin A2. Nature Chemical Biology 2021.
View
Zambaldo, Claudio; Vinogradova, Ekaterina V.; Qi, Xiaotian; Iaconelli, Jonathan; Suciu, Radu M.; Koh, Minseob; Senkane, Kristine; Chadwick, Sto R.; Sanchez, Brittany B B.; Chen, Ja S.; Chatterjee, Arnab K.; Liu, Peng; Schultz, Peter G.; Cravatt, Benjamin F.; Bollong, Michael J. 2-Sulfonylpyridines as Tunable, Cysteine-Reactive Electrophiles. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2020, 142, 8972-8979.
Bollong, Michael J.; Lee, Gihoon; Coukos, John S.; Yun, Hwayoung; Zambaldo, Claudio; Chang, Jae W.; Chin, Emily N.; Ahmad, Insha; Chatterjee, Arnab K.; Lairson, Luke L L.; Schultz, Peter G.; Moellering, Raymond E. A metabolite-derived protein modification integrates glycolysis with KEAP1-NRF2 signalling. Nature 2018, 562, 600-604.

In the Media

The ability to reverse damage to your lungs and heart is tantalizingly close

National Geographic

Chemistry Drug Discovery Pete Schultz Stem Cell Research

In the Media

Science is finding ways to regenerate your heart

The Wall Street Journal

Chemistry Drug Discovery Pete Schultz Stem Cell Research

In the Media

Drug prototype shows promise for stem cell treatment of pulmonary disease

Medscape

Chemistry Calibr-Skaggs Drug Discovery Pete Schultz Stem Cell Research

In the Media

Redesigned drug could boost lung healing

Chemical & Engineering News

Chemistry Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Pete Schultz

News

Scripps Research advances breakthrough regenerative medicines to reverse aging-related diseases

Scientists at Scripps Research and its drug discovery arm, Calibr-Skaggs, develop first-in-class small molecules to repair damaged tissues of the heart, lungs, joints, and more.

Calibr-Skaggs

News

Calibr-Skaggs announces initial dosing of a first-in-class regenerative lung medicine in a phase 1 trial for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

CMR316 is a once-weekly inhaled, lung-targeted drug designed to precisely expand lung stem cells and regenerate damaged lung tissue.

Calibr-Skaggs

Video

New regenerative lung therapy begins phase 1 trials | CMR316 & IPF treatment

The Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, part of Scripps Research, has begun testing a new regenerative lung therapy called CMR316. This inhaled treatment could change the way we treat lung diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and potentially even chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by stimulating stem cells to restore damaged lung tissue. In this phase 1 clinical trial, they're checking the safety and effects of this once-weekly drug in both healthy volunteers and IPF patients.

Calibr-Skaggs Drug Discovery idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Respiratory Diseases

Video

Regenerating tissues to treat disease

Regenerative medicine involves harnessing the body’s own capacity to repair tissues and organs. In this Front Row lecture, Associate Professor Michael Bollong shared how he's identifying and targeting the pathways controlling regeneration. By combining traditional drug discovery tools with modern biological techniques, Bollong and his lab are developing novel medicines that can intervene in the processes that cause a spectrum of human diseases and medical conditions, including heart disease, inflammatory disease and fibrosis.

Chemistry Drug Discovery Events Front Row Lecture Series Heart Disease Respiratory Diseases Translational Medicine