University of Virginia
College of Arts & Sciences
The Tepe Lab
Our Research
The Tepe Lab moved to the University of Virginia in January 2024, from Michigan State University. Our group is made up of highly skilled and diverse people from all over the world. We specialize in synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology. The group’s focus is on studying protein degradation systems and developing small molecules to alter them. We also create novel ways to synthesize natural products and their derivatives as possible therapeutic leads. Our overall goal is to develop new therapies for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Recent Publications
Recent Advancements in 20S Proteasome Enhancement: Degradation of Undruggable Targets
ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Sydney G. Cobb and Jetze J. Tepe
Tungsten-Enabled Diels–Alder Cycloaddition and Cycloreversion of Arenes and Alkynes: Divergent Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Barrelenes and Arenes
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Jeremy M. Block, Evan Savelson, Alvin Q. Meng, Megan N. Ericson, Ishaan U. Patel, Diane A. Dickie, Jetze J. Tepe, and W. Dean Harman
A Tetrazine-Based Synthesis for Accessing Underutilized Aza-Indole Analogues
Chemistry: A European Journal
Evan Savelson, Katarina A. Selewski, and Jetze J. Tepe*
Latest News & Events
February 9, 2026
Congrats to Josh, Kayla, and Bolade for passing their qualifying exams! We're all so proud of you three.
December 8, 2025
New member alert: Welcome Sky and Allison to the Tepe lab! We're excited to have you join us.
December 1, 2025
Another awesome Dr. has come out of the Tepe lab - Congrats Dr. Daniel Colombani-Garay for completing your PhD! We're so proud of you!
November 17, 2025
We are proud to announce another amazing Dr. has come out of the Tepe lab - Dr. Sydney Cobb! We've been so fortunate to have her as a member of the lab (and a friend!) these past 5 years.
November 15, 2025
Miracle did a great job giving an oral presentation at the Commonwealth of Virginia Cancer Research conference (CVCRC)!
