Kaveri Balan Urkalan

Senior Scientist at Loxo Oncology at Lilly

Boulder, Colorado, United States

About

Experience

  • Loxo Oncology at Lilly (7 yrs 1 mo)
    • Senior Scientist
      Mar 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 4 mos

    • Scientist
      Jun 2019 - Mar 2021 · 1 yr 10 mos

  • Research Scientist I at eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc.
    Jan 2017 - Apr 2019 · 2 yrs 4 mos

    • Designed and synthesized inhibitors for eIF4E, a highly oncogenic and historically intractable target whose expression is increased, or upregulated, in a variety of human cancers • Successfully executed the challenging syntheses of several highly complex bioactive heterocycles in 15 to 20 steps • Proactively contributed in designing targets using data and structure/ligand-based drug design for optimizing potency • Improved the PK and ADME/Tox for safer and better in vivo efficacy • As a key member of the chemistry team, compiled in-house progress reports, presentations, actively participated and advised CRO for analog syntheses

  • Research Scientist at Vertex Pharmaceuticals
    Jan 2016 - Dec 2016 · 1 yr

    • Synthesis hit to lead validation for a new scaffold in Cystic fibrosis project • Explored new methodology with parallel synthesis and high throughput chemistry to prepare libraries of compounds • Part of internal intelligence team to identify competitor molecules

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Calibr at Scripps Research
    Sep 2012 - Dec 2015 · 3 yrs 4 mos

    Advisor: Peter G. Schultz, Arnab Chatterjee Project 1: Developed and synthesized small molecule inhibitors of fibrosis and preformed scale up chemistry in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Project 2: Developed and synthesized (a) Non-systemic drug approach for Epithelial Sodium Channel (ENaC) inhibitors for cystic fibrosis and (b) Non-systemic drug approach for Ileal Bile Acid Transporter Inhibition (ASBT) inhibitor for Chronic Constipation, Cholestatic Pruritus, and NASH. Project 3: Developed and synthesized small molecule approach for Spinal Muscular Atrophy to enable formulations/mice efficacy studies. Project 4: Synthesized and optimized Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and developed cleavage linker technologies to attach drug payload to antibodies and Folate.

  • Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University
    Feb 2011 - Aug 2012 · 1 yr 7 mos

    Advisor: Seth B. Herzon Direct Synthesis of N-Glycosides by the Reductive Glycosylation of Azides Using Protected and Native Carbohydrate Donors