Wendell Lim is an American biochemist who holds the title of Byer's Distinguished Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. He leads the UCSF Cell Design Institute. He earned his A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University, where he studied enzyme evolutionary optimization with Jeremy Knowles. He completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Bob Sauer, using genetic and biophysical methods to investigate the role of hydrophobic core interactions in protein folding. He later conducted postdoctoral research with Frederic Richards at Yale University, focusing on the structure of protein interaction domains. Lim's research has centered on cell signaling, synthetic biology, and cell engineering, especially in immune cells.

Research career

Lim's research has studied how cells communicate with their surroundings and use this information to make important decisions. He started by examining parts of cells that help them send and receive signals, called modular signaling domains and scaffold proteins. Over time, he became interested in how these modular parts contribute to the development of new signaling systems in cells.

Lim has led important work in synthetic and systems biology, exploring how changing the way cells control their activities can reveal basic rules of how living systems are built. He demonstrated that signaling proteins and pathways can be reorganized in living cells by altering specific protein parts, scaffold proteins, and interactions between molecules. He also helped develop tools that use light to control cell signaling, allowing scientists to study how cells respond to changes in their environment over time. Additionally, he has identified common parts of cell networks that help cells perform essential tasks like increasing signals, adjusting to changes, organizing themselves in space, moving in specific directions, and sensing time-based signals. These methods have been used to design and study how immune cells function and how groups of cells organize themselves to form tissues.

Lim has been a key figure in using synthetic biology to improve immune cell engineering and develop new treatments for diseases. His team created new tools, such as receptors that can be activated by small molecules and flexible synthetic Notch receptors, which help program immune cells to detect and attack cancer cells with high precision. His group has also designed immune cells that can recognize specific body tissues and deliver targeted treatments to those areas. Furthermore, they have created systems that allow immune cells to detect how much of a target is present and respond with strong, precise actions.

Lim was part of the team that developed the CRISPRi system, which uses inactive Cas9 to control the activity of specific genes in cells. He has also worked on creating networks of cells that can form complex, organized structures similar to tissues. Lim and his colleagues have promoted using engineered cells to study and test how cells and tissues work, not only for cancer but also for other serious diseases.

Biotech industry

In 2015, Lim's research in immune cell engineering helped create the company Cell Design Labs. In 2017, Gilead Sciences bought the company.

Science education and outreach

Lim worked together with colleagues Bruce Mayer and Tony Pawson to write the textbook Cell Signaling. His group has also taken part in the synthetic biology outreach program iGEM with high school students and teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Additionally, he has led creative projects that explore design thinking, as well as topics related to science and cooking.

Personal life

Lim is Chinese-American and grew up in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He now lives in San Francisco with his wife and children. Lim loves playing basketball, surfing, and creating art.

Awards and service

• Vienna Center for Molecular Medicine, Landsteiner Lecture (2021)
• University of Oregon, Streisinger Lecture (2020)
• German Biochemical Society, Feodor Lynden Award (2019)
• NIH Transformative R01 ("Re-Designing the T cell") (2014)
• Wired Magazine, Recognized as one of 50 people who will change the world (2012)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator (2008–2020)
• Protein Society Hans Neurath Award (2010)
• Westinghouse Science Talent Search Finalist (1982)
• Member of the Editorial Board, Science Magazine
• Member of the Editorial Board, Cell
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Board of Directors