Dylan J. Taatjes, Ph.D

Dylan J. Taatjes, Ph.D - Class of 1990

2025 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee

Career Achievements  

Dr. Dylan Taatjes has built a distinguished career at the intersection of biomedical research and academic leadership. After graduating from Hudsonville High School, he earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Calvin College and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He completed postdoctoral research in Molecular and Structural Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

As a graduate student, Dr. Taatjes studied two antitumor drugs commonly used in the clinic, doxorubicin and daunorubicin, and determined their mechanism of action, which had remained enigmatic for 20 years. He then designed and synthesized derivatives that were 10 to 10,000 times more effective than the parent compounds. During this time, Dr. Taatjes gained an interest in cancer biology, and he learned that many cancers are caused and propagated by defects in transcription (a.k.a. gene expression), which refers to how the human genome is de-coded. As a postdoctoral researcher, he studied how transcription is controlled in human cells and learned that many proteins that regulate transcription are therapeutic targets. His lab at UC-Boulder combines a variety of methods and technologies to discover fundamental mechanisms that control human gene expression, and how these mechanisms are disrupted in disease. To expand the research scope and impact, the Taatjes lab works with US-based pharmaceutical companies and academic labs from around the world. His discoveries have revealed mechanisms for switching genes on and off, offering new therapeutic strategies for specific cancer types, as well as for developmental and inflammatory diseases.

As a professor at the University of Colorado's Department of Biochemistry, Dr. Taatjes has taught and mentored students since 2004. His mentorship prepares students to become independent scientists who go on to lead biotech companies and academic research labs worldwide. Dr. Taatjes also finds deep fulfillment in service to the scientific community, offering peer review for scientific journals, organizing international conferences, serving on NIH and NSF study sections, participating on editorial boards, and leading science outreach in local high schools.

Dr. Taatjes credits beloved Hudsonville educators, including Bill VanKoughnet, Marinus “Moss” Luttikhuizen, David Bolhuis, Larry Byle, Lyne Burkey, and Sue Topp, with sparking the curiosity and tenacity that launched his scientific path.

He lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife, Jessica (Kahn), and enjoys running, hiking, golf, reading, and (of course) science.