CPS Grad Spotlight - Erica Quilates

Name: Erica Quilates

MSc or PhD Candidate: Recent PhD Graduate

Location of Undergraduate Education: University of Toronto Mississauga

Name of the Lab at CPS: Gunning Lab

Selected Research Contributions:
“Benzenesulfonamide derivatives and uses thereof” – US WO2021009568 (Platform of Dunad Therapeutics)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaquilates/ 

Erica, please tell us about yourself and your journey as a PhD Candidate!

How did you come to UTM? What interested you to join a lab here?

I transferred to UTM from UTSC during my second year, I originally intended to pursue med school but that plan changed during that year. I really had no interest in chemistry and it was actually my least favourite subject, but that perspective completely changed after enrolling in CHM243 with Prof. Patrick Gunning as the course instructor. My interest in research began after having him as my professor, and that is something I’m very grateful for. After he gave us an overview of his research to highlight the importance of organic chemistry, I gained a deeper appreciation for the subject and it piqued my interest in research revolving around medicinal chemistry. And so, during my undergrad I decided to enroll in ROP (Research Opportunity Program) and join the lab of the very same person that initiated my interest in research.

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a graduate study?

To be able to design and synthesize a molecule that is invisible to the naked eye, and yet it could dramatically modulate biology… it was just an extremely attractive endeavour to me. Scientifically contributing to society gave me a sense of purpose, and so I decided to pursue research instead of med school. Having the ability to design molecules is something so enjoyable to me. The process of trying to design a molecule that can bind to a protein target has the same appeal as solving a puzzle or putting together a Lego set – at least to me! There is also the aspect of trying to come up with novel ways to address current challenges and limitations in the therapeutic field – it’s so intellectually stimulating, and it has a creative aspect to it. It’s so fun to see people come up with cool ideas! When you read about the current research work today, you’ll realize that the things you learn in undergrad lay the foundation of their research. You’ll appreciate the creative ways you can apply those basic, foundational theories to solve current challenges.

What are your research interests? Tell us few exciting things about your research.

I’ve worked on a few projects during my PhD, mainly revolving around the design and development of covalent inhibitors. Notably, during the first half of my degree, I’ve worked on a project that involved the modulation of a warhead group’s reactivity. And while I was working on the project I serendipitously discovered a novel reaction that broadened the reaction scope of the warhead strategy. I was happy to be listed as an inventor among many others for a technology that became the platform of Dunad Therapeutics. It led to a collaboration with Novartis to develop monovalent degraders.

Then during the second half of my PhD, I wanted to pursue something different. It was around the time where PROTACs were becoming a hot topic. PROTACs, or Proteolysis targeting chimeras, are bifunctional molecules that are designed to induce the interaction between an E3 ligase and a target protein – such interactions lead to the target protein being marked for degradation by the proteasome (via ubiquitination). With PROTACs you can lower protein levels by inducing its degradation – you can think of like throwing the protein in the garbage so it’s not there anymore – instead of having a molecule’s activity fully reliant on how well it can block a protein’s interactions with its substrates, which is the traditional way of inhibiting protein activity. Its such a creative design because it provided an alternative way to stop protein function! Conventional ways to inhibit protein activity via small molecules usually involved disrupting protein-protein interactions. But PROTACs provided an alternative strategy that can circumvent the limitations of such conventional strategies.

Another aspect one can appreciate is that PROTACs exemplified the ability to induce a post translational modification via a bifunctional molecule. Inspired by this, I spearheaded a project where we design a bifunctional molecule to induce the interaction between a kinase and a target protein to induce phosphorylation of the target. I was thankful that my PI, Prof. Gunning, allowed me to pursue this project despite it being something very new during that time. It was a fun endeavour, and it was cool because the target we chose wasn’t a known substrate of the kinase and yet we still saw phosphorylation.

What is your goal when you finish your degree?

Well, I recently finished my doctoral degree (convocation in November!) and honestly a little over a year ago I thought I would just start in an industrial position in Canada. But I’m currently typing this in my new apartment in sunny California – I just started my post-doctoral position at UC Berkeley. I’ve always liked to say that a lot of things can change in a short amount of time and in the past year, I thought a lot about what I wanted and I realized I would like to experience pursuing research in a new setting and have the opportunity to live in a new area to have a brand new start. After all, people can only grow if they’re outside of their comfort zone.

I am so enthralled by the concept of inducing interactions between two biological substrates via small molecules, which is basically the concept of molecular glues. With this in mind, I decided to pursue post-doctoral studies with Prof. Daniel K. Nomura at UC Berkeley – and it is honestly such an honour to embark on a post-doctoral journey in his lab. As to what I’d like to do after this post-doc… we’ll see! I’ll most likely stay in California, or maybe even go to Boston. Things are always changing so I just like to go with the flow, so who knows where I’ll end up! Wherever it is, I’m sure I’ll be doing something cool.

What are some of your achievements you'd like to share?

My recent achievement is successfully defending my thesis! It felt very rewarding to receive positive feedback from my PI, my committee and especially my external who showed a huge extent of support for my work. It’s such a satisfying feeling to see someone be so captivated by the work you did during your PhD. And of course, just knowing that you completed your doctoral study is a whole new level of accomplishment. It was not an easy feat that had moments of ups and downs, so finishing that journey was liberating (and I definitely enjoyed telling my friends to call me Dr. Erica for like two weeks).

And of course, another achievement I’m super proud of is becoming a post-doctoral researcher with Prof. Nomura at UC Berkeley. Prof. Nomura is moving towards developing next-generation therapies and therapeutic modalities for human diseases. His research is such a perfect fit for my interests, and I’ve always been a big fan of his work so this is definitely a big achievement for me. I’m looking forward to discovering where this new journey can lead to!

Do you have any advice for students considering to pursue graduate studies in research?

You have to be able to be resilient in the face of failure – there will be a lot of times when your experiments don’t work, or your project doesn’t go to plan. You must be able to push forward when obstacles come your way. I feel like most people think that pursuing PhD is such a daunting endeavour to pursue – and that’s a valid feeling – but it can be so rewarding as long as you enjoy research. Knowing something you worked on can have a contribution to society – regardless of how big or small – can be enough to give you a sense of purpose. And when your research finally works after many failed attempts, it is definitely such a rewarding feeling.

And I can say that grad school can help you grow as a person, I’ve matured a lot during the journey and I met many wonderful people. After writing my thesis, I reflected a lot on my journey in grad school and I realized that the main reason why the journey was enjoyable was because of the people I met. With each and every person I met during grad school, whether they a were a student I’ve taught, a fellow grad student I knew, a professor I’ve learned from, or a special person to me for a short while – I’m thankful to have known each and every one of them. You’ll meet a lot of people in grad school that will help you grow as a person, and you will form relationships that you would have never expected. Some of them can be lifelong or be a short, but sweet encounter. It’s a different type of experience that is only exclusive to being in grad school for research. I will say that if you do consider pursuing this path, make sure you are in a good environment that really supports your growth. When things get tough in the lab, it’s always helpful to be with supportive people that makes you happy and makes life feel a little easier just by being with them – even if the feeling is just for a short while.

And I know that the future may seem confusing and blurred for some students right now, and I want them to know that that’s okay. This is the time of your life where you should always be pushing forward, just keep moving and see where it takes you. What you think you want at the moment may change, and you may feel different later on— and that’s okay. If you pursue grad studies in research there will be a lot of changes which may be scary for some people, but it’s often a sign of growth. A lot of things can change in a short amount of time, take advantage of that. You can be the type of person you want to be, you just have to believe in yourself. And if you don’t know it yet, that’s okay, you’ll figure it out! Maybe you’ll figure it out during your graduate studies. Research is definitely fun and I encourage curious students to consider pursuing it. If you pursue research, it’s always nice to know that those discoveries you make and the knowledge you gain during your experience stays with humanity long after you are gone.