CHARM Investigator: Ruben Abagyan, PhD

CHARM INVESTIGATOR: RUBEN ABAGYAN, PhD

Computer-Powered Antibiotic Discovery

The Abagyan lab develops computer programs that “dock" compounds, proteins and peptides for structure-based lead discovery, protein modeling, and molecular design. Several new antibiotics are being uncovered that target bacterial ribosomes, cell wall enzymes, beta-lactamases or essential enzymes, with a focus on MRSA, multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens, and tuberculosis. In addition, inhibitors of proteases and cytochrome P450 are being explored as novel anti-parasitic drugs against Chagas disease, hookworms and amoebas.

ABAGYAN LAB WEBSITE

Biographical

Ruben Abagyan trained in Molecular & Chemical Physics at Moscow Institute of Physics & Technology and received his PhD from Moscow State University in Protein Structure Prediction. His career includes faculty positions at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Heidelburg), the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine (New York University) and the Scripps Research Institute, and he was a Director at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. Dr. Abagyan is currently a Professor at UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Blocking bacterial cell division

A new small molecule exhibiting excellent inhibition of bacterial cell division with potent antibacterial activity was discovered through cell-based screening. The compound exhibits a broad spectrum of activity, including MRSA, VRE and NDM-1 E. coli, and low mammalian cell cytotoxicity. These findings could provide a new chemotype for development of antibacterials with FtsZ as the target.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

CHARM Innovations: Computer-Aided Drug Design

Drug Repurposing

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Center for Drug Discovery Innovation

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CHARM Innovations: Drug Repurposing

Drug Repurposing

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