The Translational Chemical Biology Group bridges the gap between organic chemistry and biology to unlock fundamental biological knowledge and pave the way for the next generation of targeted therapeutics.
In chemistry, the term ‘chemoselectivity’ refers to the ability of a reagent (a substance or compound that triggers a reaction) to single out a specific chemical group, ignoring other reaction pathways. Organic chemists have exploited this property to develop new catalysts and streamline the chemical synthesis of complex synthetic targets. Chemical biology takes this a step further. The Group uses this background in organic chemistry to harness the inherent reactivity of functional groups within biological macromolecules like DNA, RNA, and proteins to create biological probes and novel therapeutic agents.
Our research uses chemistry principles to address questions of importance in life sciences and molecular medicine. Recent examples of emerging areas in our Group:
Development of small-molecule RNA degraders which were readily adapted to create a bifunctional molecule approach for degradation of specific secondary and tertiary RNA structures linked to pathologies, such as COVID-19 or cancer.
Development of de novo mini protein drug conjugates for targeted cancer therapy.
Development of immunodiagnostic plasma amino acid residue biomarkers to detect cancer early and predict treatment response.
