Targeted cancer therapies that interfere with specific molecules involved in the growth, progression and spread of cancer have been successful in cancer treatment in recent years. However, many known cancer-driving proteins are recalcitrant to the development of traditional small molecule inhibitors.  To address this problem in drug development, researchers are developing "degraders," small molecules that direct cancer-causing proteins to the cellular waste disposal system - the ubiquitin proteasome system - to eliminate them from the cell. While the concept has shown incredible success in the case of lenalidomide (Revlimid) for treating multiple myeloma, our understanding of the underlying mechanism is insufficient to broadly apply degraders to cancer treatment. Dr. Fischer's research will expand our molecular understanding of how degraders work and develop a novel class of small molecule degraders to target oncogenic gene products. His work will likely contribute to new approaches to treat many cancers.