Ken Hsu

Ken Hsu is an associate professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Stephen F. and Fay Evans Martin Endowed Professorship and is a CPRIT Scholar. He earned a B.S. in biochemistry from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in chemistry and biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute, Hsu joined the University of Virginia faculty in 2015 before returning to UT Austin in 2023. His honors include an NSF CAREER Award, a Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award, and the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award.

The Hsu Laboratory focuses on the discovery of bioactive molecules. The group develops covalent probes and inhibitors to investigate protein and lipid activity. Its multidisciplinary research combines organic synthesis, bioanalytical chemistry and bioorganic chemistry. Current efforts include identifying new reactive chemistries, quantifying protein ligandability on a proteome-wide scale, and elucidating the structure and function of membrane signals in living systems. The group ultimately seeks to develop new molecules that advance chemical biology and therapeutic discovery.