Dillon P. Cogan completed his B.S. in chemistry at Michigan State University in 2013, where he worked with Prof. Jetze J. Tepe on the synthesis of small-molecule anticancer drugs. During his doctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cogan trained in enzymology and structural biology under the guidance of Prof. Satish K. Nair. There, he investigated numerous enzymatic reaction mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of modified peptide natural products.
After obtaining his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 2019, Cogan moved to Stanford University as an NIH postdoctoral fellow to study the mechanisms of polyketide antibiotic biosynthesis by enzymatic assembly lines in the laboratory of Prof. Chaitan Khosla. During his postdoctoral studies, Cogan also collaborated with physician-scientists to develop antibody-based imaging probes for cardiac surgeries.
In 2023, Cogan joined USC Mann as an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Cogan’s research group is investigating two prominent types of bacterial protein machinery: (I) multienzyme systems known as “polyketide synthases” that generate complex medicinal compounds and (II) “two-component” signal transduction systems responsible for regulating cellular behaviors in response to environmental cues. The Cogan Lab employs a variety of biochemical, structural (e.g., single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy), and computational techniques to dissect the molecular functions of natural biocatalysts and biosensors while seeking opportunities to engineer them for sustainable protein- and cell-based technologies.
