Drug Design & Discovery
The members of this research group from the areas of pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy and pharmacology are actively engaged in the design, discovery and preclinical development of new therapies to treat major diseases such as cancer, depression, inflammatory disease and cardiovascular disease.
Members of Research Group
Current Research Projects
Prof. Mary M J Meegan
- The design of highly potent and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) which may be utilised in the treatment of breast cancer and osteoporosis.
- The investigation of novel mechanism of action of cytotoxic heterocycles against breast cancer cell lines (both ER+ and ER-) and the development of virtual high throughput screening computational methodologies for the identification of new anticancer molecular scaffold.
- The design and evaluation of novel dual action selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Dr. John Gilmer
- Enzyme inhibitor design – the gelatinases as targets in cancer and IBD; butyrylcholinesterase in Alzheimer's Disease
- Prodrugs: site specific drug delivery through local activation applied to prednisolone (IBD), aspirin/nitric oxide (cardiovascular disease, cancer) and buproprion (depression).
- The medicinal chemistry of the bile acids- towards new anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic agents
Dr. John Walsh
- Endothelium as a target in the design of novel inhibitors of tumour angiogenesis/vasculature
- Design of novel anti-allergy agents
- Hybrid drugs for malaria
Dr. Astrid Sasse
- Design and synthesis of highly potent and selective ligands for G-protein coupled receptors (histamine-H3 and –H4 receptors)
- Identification of polymorphisms within the histamine H3/H4 receptor gene, linkage of polymorphisms to psychic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia)
- Investigation of (patho-)physiological role of mutated receptors on a functional basis
- Development of selective histamine H3/H4 receptor ligands for mutated receptors, expressed in cell culture; screening techniques involve binding studies and functional assays
Ms. Sheila Ryder
- Butyrlcholinesterase inhibition as a therapeutic strategy in Alzheimer's disease
Dr. John Quigley
- QSAR and Molecular modeling of selected Pharmaceutical agents
- Application of Chemical Graph Theory to Physicochemical Parameters of pharmaceutical agents