Speaker: Dr. Joy Feng, PhD

Title: A Biochemist’s Journey of Antiviral Drug Discovery

Location: HSRB1, E459 and Zoom

Joy has amassed nearly 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She obtained her PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Florida and later transitioned into enzymology. During her postdoc training in Dr. Karen Anderson’s laboratory at Yale, she worked with FTC (emtricitabine) for the first time. Joy’s primary research interests include antiviral nucleoside and nucleotide analogs, viral polymerases, drug resistance, potential off-targets in human polymerases, and drug-metabolizing enzymes. In her previous role as a Sr. Principal Scientist at Gilead Sciences, Joy led project teams, headed Working Groups, and spearheaded academic collaborations for multiple viral targets. Joy holds credit as one of the inventors of Remdesivir, the first FDA-approved antiviral for treating COVID, and Obeldesivir, its orally available form. Aside from mechanistic studies, Joy's team was responsible for developing high-throughput biochemical and cell-based screening assays for weekly profiles of compounds. Furthermore, Joy has authored over 70 peer-reviewed papers, contributed as a journal reviewer, and actively participates in scientific societies.