Luke L. Cai

I am an M.D.–Ph.D. student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Columbia University. I am passionate about cancer care and research, particularly in the field of cancer immunology.

Education

• M.D., Columbia University, 2021–present
• Ph.D., Columbia University, 2021–present
• B.A., Williams College, 2019

Professional Experience

• Senior Research Associate, Kojin Therapeutics, Apr 2021–Jun 2021
• Founding Research Associate, Kojin Therapeutics, Jun 2020–Apr 2021
• Research Associate I, Chemical Biology and Therapeutics Science Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Jun 2019–Jun 2020
• Research Intern, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Summer 2016, 2017, 2018

Selected Publications

1. Eaton JK, Chatterji P, Furst L, Basak S, Patel AM, Sweat YY, Cai LL, Dave K, Victorio RA, Pizzi E, Noorbakhsh J, Tian G, Roth JA, Hynes J Jr, Xing G, Wawer MJ & Viswanathan VS. The enzyme glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL) is a target for ferroptosis induction in cancer. bioRxiv (2024). doi:10.1101/2024.04.28.591552
2. Eaton JK, Furst L, Cai LL, Viswanathan VS & Schreiber SL. Structure–activity relationships of GPX4 inhibitor warheads. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 30, 127538 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2020.127538
3. Cai LL, Ruberto RA, Ryan MJ, Eaton JK, Schreiber SL & Viswanathan VS. Modulation of ferroptosis sensitivity by TXNRD1 in pancreatic cancer cells. bioRxiv (2020). doi:10.1101/2020.06.25.165647
4. Eaton JK, Furst L, Ruberto RA, Moosmayer D, Hilpmann A, Ryan MJ, Zimmermann K, Cai LL, Niehues M, Badock V, Kramm A, Chen S, Hillig RC, Clemons PA, Gradl S, Montagnon C, Lazarski KE, Christian S, Bajrami B, Neuhaus R, Eheim AL, Viswanathan VS & Schreiber SL. Selective covalent targeting of GPX4 using masked nitrile-oxide electrophiles. Nat. Chem. Biol. 16, 497–506 (2020). doi:10.1038/s41589-020-0501-5
5. Lou H*, Li H*, Ho KJ, Cai LL, Huang AS, Shank TR, Verneris MR, Nickerson ML, Dean M & Anderson SK*. The Human TET2 Gene Contains Three Distinct Promoter Regions With Differing Tissue and Developmental Specificities. Front. Cell Dev. Biol. 7, 99 (2019). doi:10.3389/fcell.2019.00099

*Contributed equally

Google Scholar profile

Awards

• Cum Laude, Williams College, May 2019
• Highest Honors, Chemistry Department, Williams College, May 2019
• American Chemical Society Connecticut Valley Section Award, Chemistry Department, Williams College, May 2019
• Harold H. Warren Prize, Chemistry Department, Williams College, May 2017
• Honors (top 158 students), United States National Chemistry Olympiad, May 2014

Teaching

Teaching Assistant, Chemistry Department, Williams College

• CHEM 151 Introductory Chemistry (Fall 2016)
• CHEM 153 Concepts of Chemistry (Fall 2018)
• CHEM 156 Organic Chemistry: Introductory Level (Spring 2019)
• CHEM 251 Organic Chemistry: Intermediate Level (Fall 2017)
• CHEM 344T Physical Organic Chemistry (Spring 2018)

Lead Tutor, Math and Science Resource Center, Williams College

• CHEM 151 Introductory Chemistry
• CHEM 153 Concepts of Chemistry
• CHEM 155 Principles of Modern Chemistry
• CHEM 156 Organic Chemistry: Introductory Level
• CHEM 251 Organic Chemistry: Intermediate Level
• CHEM 256 Advanced Chemical Concepts

© 2025 Luke L. Cai