Research Interest
Chaperone Proteins
The molecularly-crowded environment of the cell puts a particular stress on the proteins the cell requires for growth and replication. In order to cope with this stress, cells have evolved a group of proteins known as chaperone proteins.
Chaperone proteins such as HSP90 and HSP70 are highly abundant and are involved in the quality control and the maintenance of normal function of their client proteins. Cancer cells are crucially dependent on chaperone protein function as they are a hot-house of protein synthesis and replication.
The Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit is internationally leading in its work to develop inhibitors of chaperones with the small molecule AUY-922 in Phase 2 clinical trials with Novartis. We are activley working on other chaperone targets using a variety of approaches including the synthesis of novel ATP-mimetics for use in chemical genetic screens to help understand the detailed molecular function of the target chaperones.
Kinase
The search for novel, small molecule kinase inhibitors.
