Dr. Bingbing Li is interested in the interface between biology and chemistry to use innovative chemical tools to dissect the complexity of cancer biology with a goal to identify novel cancer therapeutics. In one project, she focuses on the molecular understanding of clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue (CCSST) driven by EWSR1-ATF1/CREB fusion and identification of novel therapeutics for CCSST. The fusion protein EWS-ATF1/CREB is constitutively driving CREB/ATF1-dependent gene transcription. She recently discovered a potent CREB/ATF1 inhibitor called 666-15 and is now investigating its therapeutic potential in CCSST. She is also taking an unbiased proteomics screening approach to discover other druggable proteins for CCSST.

In another project, she is using a combination of chemical biology and cell biology to investigate the nuclear envelope. The nuclear envelope is not only important for separating nucleus from cytosol, but also important for numerous signaling pathways involved in cancer and aging. She recently discovered the first small molecule called LBL1 that binds to nuclear lamins, which are type V intermediate filament proteins lying underneath inner nuclear membrane. She capitalizes this discovery to investigate the nuclear lamina-ome composition under physiologically relevant conditions using LBL1 and its chemical probes.