The goal of the Section is technology development for diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, in particular cancer. The work spans application of methods to study changes in pre-cancer (the YCR Centre for Pre-Cancer Genomics), to identify early markers characteristic of the onset of disease and to define those that can be used for early diagnosis and preclusive therapy. In parallel, we are developing technologies for selecting and delivering macromolecular drugs (macrodrugs) to the pathological site of cancers and other human diseases. These efforts will focus on “undruggable” protein-protein interactions developing antibody fragments, peptide aptamers and macrodrug mimetics to block interactions in vivo to elicit a phenotype. Additional technologies are being developed to convert macrodrug target interactions into cytotoxic effects for efficacious therapies. The LIMM Chemical Biology programme builds on these studies to incorporate in silico and high throughput small molecule screening to develop novel drugs. We are also developing biochips for diagnostic uses that will incorporate fast-throughput detection and low-cost for wide application. New projects will find ways of developing new drugs based on in silico molecular modelling.
From November 2009, we became a Member of the UK Drug Discovery Consortium (UKDDC) allowing us to access UKDDC information on compound library construction, target selection and hit to candidate processes as well as accessing small molecule libraries where appropriate. This will be invaluable for our aim to develop new drugs by providing a forum for LIMM Chemical Biology programme scientists to interact with other UK scientists involve in drug development programmes. We are also a member of the Protein-Protein Interactions Network (PPI-Net).