Xiaoguang Lei

Research Direction: Our research group is dedicated to developing and applying novel bioactive small molecules and chemical technologies to systematically and deeply study important life processes, elucidate new molecular mechanisms in biological signal transduction pathways closely related to major human diseases, validate novel drug targets, and thereby help solve major biomedical problems. Specific research contents include the following five aspects: 1. Using chemical biology approaches to study molecular mechanisms and regulatory methods of biological pathways related to major human diseases (such as cancer, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.); 2. Conducting research on the synthesis of complex natural products and using bioactive natural products to discover new biological targets and elucidate new biological mechanisms; 3. Studying the biosynthesis of complex natural products, revealing new enzymatic mechanisms, and comprehensively using synthetic chemistry and synthetic biology approaches to efficiently prepare drug molecules derived from natural products; 4. Developing a new generation of highly efficient biocompatible reactions and utilizing chemical crosslinking combined with mass spectrometry technology to systematically study complex protein structures and protein-protein interactions; 5. Searching for and discovering new drug targets and developing innovative drugs using medicinal chemistry approaches.

1. Pei Miao, Haijun Wang, Wei Wang, Zhengdong Wan, Han Ke, Hangyuan Chen, Jinjing Ni, Jingnan Liang, Yu-Feng Yao, Jizong Wang, Jian-Min Zhou*, and Xiaoguang Lei* “A widespread plant defense compound disarms bacterial type III injectisome assembly” Science 2025, 387, eads0377 (Highlighted by C&E News)
2. Jun Yang, Tianjun Zhao, Junping Fan, Huaibin Zou, Guangyi Lan, Fusheng Guo Yaocheng Shi, Han Ke, Huasheng Yu, Zongwei Yue, Xin Wang, Yingjie Bai, Shui Li, Yingjun Liu, Xiaoming Wang, Yu Chen*, Yulong Li*, Xiaoguang Lei* “Structure-guided discovery of bile acid derivatives for treating liver diseases without causing itch” Cell 2024, 187, 7164–7182 (Highlighted by C&E News)