Masaya Yamaguchi
Principal Scientist Pfizer
Masaya Yamaguchi is Principal Scientist at Pfizer, where he supports drug discovery programs leveraging expertise in structural biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, protein engineering, and biophysics. With more than a decade of experience spanning protein degradation, kinases, and other challenging target classes, he has played key roles in advancing innovative therapeutic strategies. Prior to joining Pfizer, he conducted postdoctoral research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Hokkaido University. He earned his PhD in Life Sciences from Hokkaido University and has received multiple awards from the Japanese Biochemical Society and JSPS.
Seminars
For many organizations, identifying a molecular glue hit is only the first hurdle. Determining whether that hit is mechanistically meaningful, clinically relevant, and worth the significant investment required for optimization remains one of the field’s greatest challenges. Researchers increasingly recognize that no single screening technology is sufficient, leading to growing adoption of DELs, functional screening, in-cell discovery platforms, proteomics, and biophysical characterization methods. This workshop will examine how to construct robust screening and profiling cascades that distinguish genuine opportunities from false positives, establish confidence in mechanism of action, and support more informed go/no-go decisions throughout molecular glue discovery.
Join this workshop to:
- Compare DEL, functional, cellular, proteomic, and next-generation screening approaches to identify productive induced-proximity events and expand discovery beyond traditional cereblon-based degradation
- Design multi-parameter profiling cascades that evaluate cooperativity, selectivity, mechanism of action, and biological relevance using biophysical tools, proteomics, and disease-relevant cellular models
