John E. Moses
Professor
Cancer Center Member
Ph.D. (DPhil), University of Oxford, 2004
[email protected] | 516-367-5560
My group uses click chemistry to study biological systems at the molecular level. We develop and exploit powerful bond-forming click reactions that enable the rapid synthesis of small functional molecules, including cancer drugs and chemical probes. We apply these novel molecular tools in multidisciplinary discovery projects spanning the fields of biology and chemistry.
John Moses’ lab specializes in click chemistry, a powerful discovery method that relies upon the most robust chemical reactions to synthesize functional molecules. Small molecules are important because Nature’s machinery, including proteins, enzymes, and receptors, evolved to interact selectively with molecular ligands, similar to how a key fits a lock.
Using click chemistry, we create molecular probes for studying biological systems that may lead to new treatments for deadly diseases, including cancer. For example, we developed a new class of therapeutic DNA binding ligand that interacts selectively with telomeric regions of the genome involved in cellular maintenance. Several of these telomere binding ligands show remarkable selectivity and potency against cancer cells and tumours.
Further developing click chemistry, we recently described a discovery method called Diversity Oriented Clicking, which exploits a focussed group of reliable click chemistry reactions to achieve structural diversity. Our Diversity-Clicking approach led to the discovery of a new group of antibiotics with activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA.
Through the application of click chemistry, the Moses group is committed to developing Chemistry For Biology at 黑料吃瓜资源.
Member of the American Chemical Society; 2019
Chartered Member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (MRACI CChem); 2018
Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC); 2015
Thieme Chemistry Award; 2011
UK & ROI Lilly Award: Excellence in Organic Chemistry; 2011
King Saud University, Award; 2011
William Boland Award; University of Bath; 2001
A secret weapon against superbugs
July 21, 2026
Fundamental chemistry at CSHL helped revive a powerful antibiotic against drug-resistant bacteria, opening a new front in the fight against superbugs.
NCI grants support 鈥榥atural鈥 cancer research
August 11, 2025
CSHL鈥檚 Moses lab uses a technique called click chemistry to create new, nature-based compounds that could one day be used in the clinic.
Moses elected Fellow of Learned Society of Wales
April 29, 2025
The Welshman immigrated to the U.S. in 2020. He uses a revolutionary process called click chemistry to identify and test potential cancer treatments.
Deciphering brain diseases with click chemistry
February 18, 2025
黑料吃瓜资源 Professors John Moses and Hiro Furukawa speak at the CSHL Association鈥檚 2025 Annual Meeting.
At the Lab Season 1 Research Rewind: Cancer
October 8, 2024
As the first season of our new podcast winds down, we鈥檙e revisiting all of our episodes with a focus on CSHL鈥檚 cutting-edge cancer research.
At the Lab Episode 13: A more sustainable chemistry
July 2, 2024
For this week鈥檚 podcast, CSHL Professor John Moses bridges the gap between chemistry and biology in less than three minutes.
Wrexham University awards John Moses Honorary Fellowship
June 13, 2024
CSHL Professor John Moses returned to his hometown of Wrexham, Wales, where he was recognized for his contributions to science.
Nobel laureate honored at CSHL chemistry symposium
April 15, 2024
鈥淭he Future of Click Chemistry鈥 brought together two-time Nobelist K. Barry Sharpless with his former apprentices John Moses and David Tuveson.
Click, click, boom鈥150 new molecules
April 4, 2024
CSHL Professor John Moses premieres an expansive line of new click chemistry products, uncovering leads for better antibiotics and cancer drugs.
Cocktails & Chromosomes: Molecules to change the world
March 14, 2024
What is CSHL鈥檚 John Moses doing with that glowing liquid? Watch our expert chemist get a reaction from the crowd at Industry bar in Huntington, NY.
All Publications
11 Sep 2025
Sun, Shoujun; Smith, Elliot; Vishwakarma, Dharmendra; Moorhouse, Adam; Moses, John;
7 Aug 2025 | Nature Reviews Methods Primers | 5(1)
Wang, Zifei; Homer, Joshua; Zegeye, Elias; Dada, Lucas; Wolan, Dennis; Kitamura, Seiya; Moses, John;
7 Jan 2025 | Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis
Wang, Z; Vishwakarma, D; Sun, S; Huang, Q; Pati, S; Johnson, R; Rufrano, M; Gembicky, M; Homer, J; Moses, J;
15 Oct 2024 | Nature Reviews Bioengineering
Homer, Joshua; Johnson, Robert; Koelln, Rebecca; Moorhouse, Adam; Moses, John;
12 Sep 2024 | Chem | 10(9):2615-2619
Moorhouse, Adam; Homer, Joshua; Moses, John;
23 Jul 2024 | Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis
Vishwakarma, Dharmendra; Moses, John;
13 Mar 2024 | Chemical Science | 15(11):3879-3892
Homer, Joshua; Koelln, Rebecca; Barrow, Andrew; Gialelis, Timothy; Boiarska, Zlata; Steinohrt, Nikita; Lee, Erinna; Yang, Wen-Hsuan; Johnson, Robert; Chung, Taemoon; Habowski, Amber; Vishwakarma, Dharmendra; Bhunia, Debmalya; Avanzi, Charlotte; Moorhouse, Adam; Jackson, Mary; Tuveson, David; Lyons, Scott; Lukey, Michael; Fairlie, W; Haider, Shozeb; Steinmetz, Michel; Prota, Andrea; Moses, John;
12 Jan 2024 | STAR Protocols | 5(1):102824
Homer, Joshua; Sun, Shoujun; Koelln, Rebecca; Moses, John;
1 Dec 2023 | Nature Reviews Methods Primers | 3(1)
Homer, J; Xu, L; Kayambu, N; Zheng, Q; Choi, E; Kim, B; Sharpless, K; Zuilhof, H; Dong, J; Moses, J;
10 Aug 2023 | Chem | 9(8):2063-2077
Moorhouse, A; Homer, J; Moses, J;