About Dr. Harki
Dr. Daniel Harki is an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, a Faculty Member of the Stem Cell Institute, and a Member of the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus.
Dr. Harki received his early training at West Virginia University, graduating with a B.A. in biology and chemistry in 1999. Later that year Dr. Harki began graduate studies in chemistry at The Pennsylvania State University working on the development of synthetic, antiviral nucleosides in the laboratory of Professor Blake Peterson. In 2005, Dr. Harki earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Penn State and subsequently began postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology under the direction of Professor Peter Dervan. While at Caltech (2005-2009), Dr. Harki worked on projects that focused on the solution-phase synthesis and in vivo imaging of DNA-binding pyrrole-imidazole polyamides. In 2009, Dr. Harki began his independent academic career at the University of Minnesota.
The Harki laboratory is focused on the discovery and development of small molecule probes and therapeutics for addressing drug resistance in human cancers. In collaboration with Professor Reuben Harris at UMN, Dr. Harki has developed first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of APOBEC3A, APOBEC3B, and APOBEC3G. This technology is currently being commercialized by ApoGen Biotechnologies, Inc., which was co-founded by Dr. Harki.
Dr. Harki has received a number of awards, including induction into Phi Beta Kappa and fellowships from the American Heart Association, the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, and the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. Dr. Harki was recently named a V Foundation V Scholar from The V Foundation for Cancer Research.