Picture of Phil Cole

Philip A. Cole, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Our research involves the chemical biology of protein post-translational modifcations (PTMs) in the context of signaling, epigenetics, and cancer.  We develop and apply chemical approaches including protein semisynthesis and small molecule probes to the study of protein phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, and other PTMs in enzymes and cellular networks. 

Phil Cole graduated from Yale University with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1984 and then spent a year as a Churchill Scholar at the University of Cambridge.  Cole went on to obtain M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins where he pursued research in bioorganic chemistry in 1991.  Cole then entered clinical and post-doctoral training at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School prior to joining Rockefeller University in 1996 as a junior lab head.  In 1999, Cole returned to Johns Hopkins as professor and director of pharmacology where he served until 2017, when he moved to Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital as professor of medicine and biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology.  His research interests are in the area of chemical biology, protein post-translational modifications, cell signaling, and epigenetics.

Research:

Our research involves the chemical biology of protein post-translational modifcations (PTMs) in the context of signaling, epigenetics, and cancer.  We develop and apply chemical approaches including protein semisynthesis and small molecule probes to the study of protein phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, and other PTMs in enzymes and cellular networks.  We are currently investigating the functions, regulation, and mechanisms of PTEN lipid phosphatase, Akt protein kinase, NEDD4 ubiquitin ligases, LSD1 histone demethylase, HDAC1 deacetylase, the CoREST complex, and p300/CBP acetyltransferase.  We strive to translate our findings in signaling and epigenetics to identify novel therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Address: 

New Research Building

77 Avenue Louis Pasteur

Room 168C

Boston, MA 02115

Publications View
Semisynthetic Approach to the Analysis of Tumor Suppressor PTEN Ubiquitination.
Authors: Authors: Iwase R, Dempsey DR, Whedon SD, Jiang H, Palanski BA, Deng B, Cole PA.
J Am Chem Soc
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Structural Basis of Sirtuin 6-Catalyzed Nucleosome Deacetylation.
Authors: Authors: Wang ZA, Markert JW, Whedon SD, Yapa Abeywardana M, Lee K, Jiang H, Suarez C, Lin H, Farnung L, Cole PA.
J Am Chem Soc
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Reference compounds for characterizing cellular injury in high-content cellular morphology assays.
Authors: Authors: Dahlin JL, Hua BK, Zucconi BE, Nelson SD, Singh S, Carpenter AE, Shrimp JH, Lima-Fernandes E, Wawer MJ, Chung LPW, Agrawal A, O'Reilly M, Barsyte-Lovejoy D, Szewczyk M, Li F, Lak P, Cuellar M, Cole PA, Meier JL, Thomas T, Baell JB, Brown PJ, Walters MA, Clemons PA, Schreiber SL, Wagner BK.
Nat Commun
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Editorial: Mechanistic biology.
Authors: Authors: Zhang YJ, Cole PA.
Curr Opin Chem Biol
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A central role for regulated protein stability in the control of TFE3 and MITF by nutrients.
Authors: Authors: Nardone C, Palanski BA, Scott DC, Timms RT, Barber KW, Gu X, Mao A, Leng Y, Watson EV, Schulman BA, Cole PA, Elledge SJ.
Mol Cell
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Chemical modulation of Schistosoma mansoni lysine specific demethylase 1 (SmLSD1) induces wide-scale biological and epigenomic changes.
Authors: Authors: Padalino G, Celatka CA, Rienhoff HY, Kalin JH, Cole PA, Lassalle D, Forde-Thomas J, Chalmers IW, Brancale A, Grunau C, Hoffmann KF.
Wellcome Open Res
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KATs off: Biomedical insights from lysine acetyltransferase inhibitors.
Authors: Authors: Whedon SD, Cole PA.
Curr Opin Chem Biol
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Enzymatic Analysis of WWP2 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Using Protein Microarrays Identifies Autophagy-Related Substrates.
Authors: Authors: Jiang H, Chiang CY, Chen Z, Nathan S, D'Agostino G, Paulo JA, Song G, Zhu H, Gabelli SB, Cole PA.
J Biol Chem
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Histone H2B Deacylation Selectivity: Exploring Chromatin's Dark Matter with an Engineered Sortase.
Authors: Authors: Wang ZA, Whedon SD, Wu M, Wang S, Brown EA, Anmangandla A, Regan L, Lee K, Du J, Hong JY, Fairall L, Kay T, Lin H, Zhao Y, Schwabe JWR, Cole PA.
J Am Chem Soc
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Multifaceted Regulation of Akt by Diverse C-Terminal Post-translational Modifications.
Authors: Authors: Salguero AL, Chen M, Balana AT, Chu N, Jiang H, Palanski BA, Bae H, Wright KM, Nathan S, Zhu H, Gabelli SB, Pratt MR, Cole PA.
ACS Chem Biol
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