Dr. Daniel Harki elected as 2025 AAAS Fellow

Dr. Daniel Harki, Northrop Professor and Margaret Harvey Schering Land Grant Chair for Cancer Research in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor that recognizes individuals for their distinguished work in scientific advancement.

Harki was selected for his “distinguished contributions to the field of antiviral and anticancer drug design by employing medicinal chemistry and chemical biology and for outstanding service to the scientific community,” as written by AAAS. Harki’s research focuses on the development of novel small molecules to serve as mechanistic probes and therapeutics for applications in anticancer and antiviral research. He and his colleagues have developed first-in-class inhibitors for the APOBEC3 DNA cytosine deaminases, which promote cancer drug resistance mutations, as well as targeted degraders for “difficult to drug” proteins in oncology. Harki also serves as the Deputy Director of medicinal chemistry for the Midwest AViDD Center, which is developing drugs for viruses of pandemic concern. 

“Of course, I am honored to receive this recognition by AAAS,” Harki said. “I would like to acknowledge the contributions of over 50 Harki lab members that have enabled our research successes.”

Four additional 2025 AAAS fellows are from the University of Minnesota. Harki joins ten other AAAS Fellows in the College of Pharmacy: Dr. Kip Guy, Dr. Carrie Haskell-Luevano, Dr. Gunda Georg, Dr. Patrick Hanna, Dr. Rodney Johnson, Dr. Philip Portoghese, Dr. Tom Shier, Dr. Robert Vince, Dr. Carston (Rick) Wagner, and Dr. Natalia Tretyakova.