Dr. Hui‑Ju Tseng is an Assistant Professor in the School of Pharmacy at Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan. She earned her Bachelor’s, and Ph.D. degrees in Drug Discovery and Development Industry at Taipei Medical University, and subsequently broadened her international experience as a Visiting Scholar at the Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California. Dr. Tseng’s research lies at the intersection of medicinal chemistry, with a focus on designing, synthesizing, and evaluating the biological activity of small molecules. Her current investigations explore structure-based virtual screening to identify novel kinase inhibitors, as well as the application of proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTAC) technology, which harnesses the ubiquitin–proteasome system to develop innovative compounds for kidney fibrosis and cancer. She is particularly interested in advancing therapeutic strategies for glioblastoma and colorectal cancer, with the goal of bridging fundamental drug discovery with clinical relevance. Through these multidisciplinary approaches, Dr. Tseng is committed to developing effective small‑molecule therapeutics that improve patient outcomes in oncology and chronic kidney disease.

Welcome to the HJT Lab! A research group dedicated to medicinal chemistry, virtual screening, and PROTAC‑based strategies for cancer and fibrosis, based at Kaohsiung Medical University

Welcome to the HJT Lab at Kaohsiung Medical University. Our research is dedicated to the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel small molecules with therapeutic potential. We focus on developing new chemical entities that can be combined with immunoregulatory agents for cancer treatment, with particular emphasis on glioblastoma and colorectal cancer. In addition, our lab is actively engaged in creating innovative compounds aimed at attenuating kidney fibrosis, addressing another critical unmet medical need.

In our lab, students and researchers gain hands‑on experience across a broad spectrum of experimental techniques and methodologies, including database searching for drug discovery, organic synthesis for novel compound development, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for structural characterization, and synthetic pathway design to optimize drug discovery strategies. We also provide extensive exposure to mammalian cell culture, cell viability assays, western blot analysis, and the use of animal disease models to validate therapeutic efficacy.

Our mission is to equip trainees with the skills and knowledge necessary to contribute to cutting‑edge drug discovery and translational research, while fostering innovation in medicinal chemistry and therapeutic development.