Chemical Biology

Exploring Cell Biology Using Small Molecules

Since 1995, our lab has probed different aspects of cell biology using biologically active natural products. These mode of action studies have combined total syntheses and affinity reagent generation with biochemical, cell biological and pharmacological approaches in order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by with certain natural product exert their biological activity. This work has led to the identification and validation of new drug targets such as methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP-2) as well as to new drug candidates such as the next generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib/Kyprolis™.