Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy

Many organic small molecules serve as drug leads for drug discovery and drug development programs. Understanding the structure and mechanism of action of these small molecules is essential for drug lead optimization. Also having a reliable synthetic access to these organic small molecules is important to aid in SAR studies and lead optimization in the search for new drugs for various diseases. Dr. Adu-Ampratwum's area of interest includes exploring novel synthetic methods for the synthesis of small organic molecules as lead compounds for drug discovery. His current research area focuses on designing and synthesizing small molecules to study HIV and cancer biology and as potential therapeutics.

Dr. Carcache de Blanco's research interests focus on the discovery of bioactive constituents from natural product sources with potential application in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. She is also interested in the study of botanical dietary supplements and other herbal products used in traditional medicine.

Dr. Cheng’s laboratory aims to develop an interdisciplinary research program centered on Computer Aided Drug Design and Discovery. Closely collaborating with experimental chemists and biologists, our group utilizes a myriad of computational modeling & simulation, and data analytics techniques to understand molecular basis of drug action and to rationally design new drug molecules. Our group also has long-standing interests in: a) developing and applying multiscale computational techniques to investigate the structure, dynamics and function of complex biomolecular (and cellular ) systems; and b) bridge large-scale molecular simulation with systems biology (cellular metabolism and signaling networks) towards a new drug discovery paradigm.

The research in Dr. Fuchs' lab focuses on the design and preparation of bioactive molecules for therapeutic applications against cancer and infectious diseases. His lab utilizes fundamental chemical knowledge and synthetic methodology to facilitate the process of drug discovery and development through the generation of biological probe molecules, the synthesis and modification of lead compounds, and the optimization of drug properties. The overarching goals of these studies are to understand the mechanisms through which small molecules interact with proteins or other biomolecules in the context of disease progression and to improve the potential utility of promising new compounds to help them advance toward the clinic. Recently, the Fuchs lab has collaborated with numerous labs in the areas of natural product drug development for various cancers, the preparation of protein degraders active against leukemia, and HIV-1 capsid and integrase drug development.

My interdisciplinary research program is inspired by the metabolic diversity of microorganisms and the vast array of compounds they produce. Working at the interface of chemistry and biology, my group combines approaches in chemistry, biochemistry, bioinformatics, genetics, and systems biology to discover new natural products, identify bioactivity and mode of action, and to decipher the metabolic basis of their biosynthesis. Ultimately, we seek to translate insights gained from our investigations into solutions for modern day challenges facing human health and the environment. These include new antibiotics to counter drug-resistant pathogens, novel herbicides and biocontrol agents to improve pest management and food security, and engineered biocatalysts to facilitate chemical production by green chemistry and industrial biotechnology.

The research interests of Dr. Kinghorn are on the isolation, characterization and biological evaluation of natural products of higher plant origin, and he has worked in particular on compounds with potential antimicrobial, cancer chemotherapeutic, cancer chemopreventive, sweet-tasting, and bitterness-blocking effects, in addition to the scientific study of botanical dietary supplements.

The Chromatin Design Lab develops engineered proteins and biosensors to study chromatin regulation and transcriptional control. We aim to create custom molecular tools, including mutant-selective binders and sensors that recognize specific combinations of post-translational modifications. These approaches will be used to investigate how histone modifications and transcription factors regulate gene expression, and to design new strategies for targeting diseased epigenetic regulation.

Dr. Li’s research interest focuses on the design, syntheses and studies of small molecules for cancers and infectious diseases. In the cancer area, our group focus on prostate and pancreatic cancer. Novel molecules are developed using the strategies of drug repurposing and structure-based drug design (in collaboration with Dr. Xiaolin Cheng). In the research of infectious disease, our focus is on the development of small molecules for the treatment of COVID-19. Novel molecules are generated through computational chemistry, molecular modeling and virtual screening targeting the interface of spike protein and human ACE-2 receptor.

Dr. Mitton-Fry’s research team is dedicated to inventing cures for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The lab uses the tools of synthetic medicinal chemistry to design and prepare innovative new molecules, and we collaborate broadly to evaluate their biological, pharmaceutical, and toxicological properties. Dr. Mitton-Fry also enjoys teaching students at all levels about antibacterial therapies.

Dr. Peterson’s research group works to design, synthesize, and discover small molecules that affect the proliferation of cancer cells and associated immune cells that support malignancy. To identify these compounds, the Peterson laboratory synthesizes fluorescent molecular probes as tools for drug discovery. These probes are used to create target-based or phenotypic drug discovery assays to identify anticancer agents with novel mechanisms of action. To optimize and evaluate these compounds, they use synthetic organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology approaches. In conjunction with high throughput screening by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, and other related techniques, his laboratory identifies chemical probes of biological systems, uncovers mechanisms of biologically active agents, and discovers hit and lead compounds for the development of therapeutics.

New natural product sources, such as new and unidentified fungal and bacterial microorganisms, microbial endophytes, and endemic and medicinal plant species, contain many undiscovered potential bioactive secondary metabolites that can be used to combat the world’s deadly diseases including cancer, malaria, and viral infections. Dr. Rakotondraibe’s laboratory focuses on the investigation of these new natural product sources to discover novel pharmacophores of potential drug candidates. We routinely perform bioassay-guided isolation, structural elucidation and development of bioactive compounds from natural sources (higher plants, liverworts, lichens, soil- and marine-derived microbes as well as microbial endophytes). Our recent ongoing projects include the isolation of mycobionts of U.S. lichens and the investigation of their bioactive secondary metabolites.

Parasitic diseases have a devastating effect on public health in developing areas of the world. Research in Karl Werbovetz’s group focuses on the discovery and development of new drug candidates against the protozoan parasitic diseases leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, and malaria, with most of our recent efforts concentrating on visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and human African trypanosomiasis (HAT).