Cancer drug discovery-small molecule synthesis

The interns will be working in medicinal chemistry on two projects: the design and synthesis of drugs targeting the cyclin dependent kinase, CDK1; and the design of small molecule inhibitors of mutant KRAS. Both of these proteins are commonly involved in cancer initiation. In neither case are there good drugs available to patients. Although separate projects, they use the same workflow, and personnel trained in one can contribute meaningfully to the other. In both cases, the computational structural biology team in the Trant lab has screened billions of potential molecules against both targets, including many derivatives of our previous generations of “hit” molecules (those we have shown have activity, but not sufficient activity). This team, comprised entirely of Ukrainian scientists, will lead the synthesis of these new molecules. They will design synthetic routes, carry out the chemical reactions, identify products, and work with the biochemistry team in the Trant lab at evaluating the potency of the candidates. This is expected to last 24 weeks.

Faculty Supervisor:

John Trant

Student:

Partner:

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv;National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Pharmaceuticals; Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Windsor

Program: