Our Science – McKee Website

Tawnya C. McKee, Ph.D.

Molecular Targets Development Program Natural Products Chemistry Group Staff Scientist NCI-Frederick Bldg 560-15 (mail) Bldg 562 Rm 101 Frederick, MD 21702 Phone:   301.846.1943 Fax:   Fax Number not listed E-Mail:   mckee@ncifcrf.gov

Biography

Dr. McKee received her BA in Biology/Chemistry from Pt. Loma College, San Diego, CA. She received her Ph. D. in Medicinal Chemistry studying bioactive marine natural products from Fijian invertebrates under the direction of Prof. Chris M. Ireland at the University of Utah. She joined the NCI as a postdoc in the Laboratory of Drug Discovery Research and Development, DTP in 1990. She is currently in the Molecular Targets Development Program in the CCR. She has a longstanding interest in the isolation, structural determination, and biological characterization of new secondary metabolites produced by terrestrial plants, marine organisms, and microbial isolates.

Research

Dr. McKee is a member of the Molecular Targets Development Program (MTDP) which designs and implements high throughput screens to identify drug leads, bioprobes, and reagents for molecular target evaluation in cancer cells. The MTDP exploits chemical and biodiversity repositories, including the NCI Natural Products Repository (the world's largest and most diverse collection of natural product extracts), for molecularly targeted lead discovery. She utilizes her interest and expertise in natural products chemistry to facilitate the discovery of natural product compounds that may serve as bioprobes for chemical genetics, proteomics, target validation, and potential lead compounds for clinical development. She also serves as one of several MTDP project managers who manage the HTS screens used by the MTDP.

This page was last updated on 7/15/2008.