Biography of Jordan Koehn

Jordan Koehn, PhD, co-founded ForagR Medicines alongside Kevin Weeks, PhD, and Andrea Epperly, PhD. ForagR Medicines is an RNA-targeted small-molecule therapeutics biotech company launched in 2024. Koehn lead’s the ForagR Medicines drug discovery platform as Head of Platform and Chemical Genomics.

A Leader in Biotechnology

Dr. Jordan Koehn has conducted extensive research throughout his academic and professional career. His career goal is to address major unresolved challenges in human health and disease as a leader in biotechnology During his postdoctoral research with Dr Kevin Weeks at UNC, Koehn invented the transcriptome-wide RNA-ligand discovery technology that has now evolved into the ForagR Medicines drug discovery platform. Using this technology, he explored how higher-order RNA structure mediates biological function. Koehn identified numerous novel RNA structural and regulatory elements by discovering and characterizing function-modulating small-molecule ligands that bind these structures.

Koehn also recognized that small molecules that interact with RNA have potential as a broad new class of therapeutics. RNA is an especially attractive drug target when the proteins involved in a given disease are difficult to drug. He is an expert in developing innovative technologies to create RNA-targeted medicines using small molecule synthesis and chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, RNA structural biology, and high-throughput chemical genomics.

Koehn has leveraged his expertise to become the lead developer of the ForagR platform and currently leads the team executing the ForagR platform technology. He has extensive experience managing research projects and interdisciplinary teams and led a highly successful collaboration with the BASF Corporation to apply the ForagR platform technology to develop novel insecticides and crop protection agents.

Koehn’s Professional Background and Experience

Koehn earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, with a minor in Biology, from the University of Minnesota Morris. As an undergraduate, he gained significant research experience in chiral ligand development for asymmetric synthesis, synthesis of transition-state analogs (for a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis enzyme), and development of renewable agriculture-based hydrocarbon fuels. His diverse experiences early on ignited a desire to fuse chemistry and biology to create high-impact research directions that benefit human health.

Koehn earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Colorado State University in 2019. While working in Dr. Debbie Crans’ laboratory, he developed several independent research projects that honed his skills in chemical synthesis and model biological systems. He investigated structural factors of electron transport lipids that influence M. tuberculosis pathogenesis and explored vanadium(V) complexes as a chemical framework for anti-cancer therapeutic development.

Koehn completed his postdoctoral work in Dr. Kevin Weeks’ laboratory at UNC Chapel Hill in October of 2024. During his postdoctoral training, Koehn was a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Integrated Training in Cancer Model Systems Fellow and an NIH Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow His research focused on developing and applying innovative ‘omics technologies to transform our understanding of RNA function by defining the fundamental principles for small-molecule modulation of RNA biology. Koehn’s experimental and conceptual advances lay the groundwork for identifying optimal RNA motifs for small-molecule modulation and will be leveraged at ForagR Medicines to advance RNA-targeted therapeutics.

Research Funding and Trainee Initiatives

Koehn has been awarded several grants and traineeships over the past four years, including a Sponsored Research Collaboration with BASF Corporation, Comprehensive identification of RNA-ligand interactions to enable development of novel crop protection agents, $450K (SRA 22-3197 88631434, 2022-2024); NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship, Defining the ligandability of bacterial RNAs, (NIH F32GM143863, 2021-2022); UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Fellowship, Integrated Training in Cancer Model Systems Postdoctoral Training Program, (NIH T32CA009156, 2019-2021).

Accolades

Koehn has been recognized as a distinguished scholar and researcher with a proven track record of academic excellence. He has been honored with several awards, including the Top Postdoc Poster Award, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Postdoc-Faculty Day (2020); UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Postdoctoral Training Award (2019); Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, CSU graduate school (2019); Great Minds in Research – Honorable Mention Poster Award, CSU Graduate School (2017); American Chemical Society Membership Award, American Chemical Society, RMRM Meeting (2017); Top Ten Best Chemistry Poster Award, American Chemical Society, RMRM Meeting (2017).

A Prolific Contributor to Scientific Work

Koehn has published 18 scientific articles in the following areas: (i) small-molecule modulation of RNA biology (ii) structural factors in electron transport lipids that influence Mycobacterium

tuberculosis pathogenesis, and (iii) short-lived cytotoxic vanadium metal complexes as potential cancer therapeutics.

Some of his published work with co-authors includes: “Fingerprinting Tertiary Structure in Complex RNAs Using Single-molecule Correlated Chemical Probing, ” “Innovations in Targeting RNA by Fragment-based Ligand Discovery, ” “Electron Transport Lipids Fold within Membrane-like Interfaces,” “Investigating Substrate Analogs for Mycobacterial MenJ: Truncated and Partially Saturated Menaquinones, ” “Synthesis and Characterization of Partially and Fully Saturated Menaquinone Derivatives, ” “A Synthetic Isoprenoid Lipoquinone, Menaquinone-2, Adopts a Folded Conformation in Solution and at a Model Membrane Interface, ” “Halogenated Non-innocent Vanadium(V) Schiff Base Complexes: Chemical and Anti-proliferative Properties, ” “Vanadium Chloro-substituted Schiff Base Catecholate Complexes are Reducible, Lipophilic, Water Stable, and Have Anticancer Activities, ” “Hydrophobicity May Enhance Membrane Affinity and Anti-Cancer Effects of Schiff Base Vanadium(V) Catecholate Complexes, ” “A Short-lived but Highly Cytotoxic Vanadium(V) Complex as a Potential Drug Lead for Brain Cancer Treatment by Intratumoral Injections ”

An Engaged Mentor and Teacher

Koehn’s dedication to training emerging scientists and mentoring colleagues began in graduate school and continues to this day. He has mentored over 20 undergraduate students, along with several graduate and postdoctoral researchers. Many of his mentees have received research and poster awards, as well as co-authorship on published manuscripts, highlighting their scientific growth and success.

In addition to mentoring, Koehn has a strong passion for teaching. He served as an instructor of Organic Chemistry while pursuing his doctoral degree at Colorado State University, where he not only imparted knowledge but also fostered an engaging and collaborative learning environment. His commitment to mentorship and education reflects his belief in nurturing the next generation of scientists.

Professional Service

Koehn is actively engaged in the broader scientific community. During his time in the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Integrated Training in Cancer Model Systems Postdoctoral Training Program, he was appointed to the postdoc committee.

This committee, composed of selected postdocs, organizes the Research Study Group, which explores diverse topics related to postdoctoral training and features respected invited speakers. Additionally, the committee hosts the Annual Postdoc-Faculty Day, showcasing presentations from distinguished experts and postdoc trainees, along with a poster session that attracts over 50 faculty and postdoc participants.

Personal Background

Jordan Koehn was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and moved to Willmar, Minnesota, as a toddler. Embracing the beauty of Minnesota's lakes, lush forests, and welcoming communities, he enjoyed a rich childhood filled with outdoor adventures that left a lasting impression. Growing up in a family of diverse talents his father a banker and veteran, and his mother a skilled watercolorist and florist Jordan was inspired by creativity, grit, and hard work.

As a boy and teenager, Jordan spent countless hours exploring the family’s picturesque 40-acre farm, cultivating a deep appreciation for nature and the outdoors.

Since marrying his wife in 2018, Jordan has made Durham, North Carolina, his home, where the couple recently celebrated the arrival of their beautiful son.

An avid outdoor enthusiast, Jordan loves fishing, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, nature walks, and bonfires. He also finds joy in gardening, cooking delicious meals, listening to music, reading, and exploring new places.

Jordan is deeply committed to giving back to the community. Over the past eight years, he has actively supported Round Up for Kids’ Nutrition Education through Sprouts Farmers Market and donated clothing and essential items to various nonprofit organizations. From 2014 to 2018, he served as a judge for the Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity exposition at Colorado State University, where over 300 students showcased their research and competed for awards.

Since completing his doctoral work at Colorado State University in 2019, Jordan has contributed to memorial scholarships for undergraduate research at the university. More recently, he has donated to disaster relief funds for those affected by Hurricane Helene.