Drug Discovery
Drug Discovery
Drug discovery is the process by which new medicines are identified and developed. Scientists at the Medicinal Chemistry Collaborative work together on drug discovery from multiple angles. The Cech and Oberlies groups discover biologically active molecules from natural sources, such as plants and fungi. The Croatt and Petersen groups are experts in synthesizing molecules in a laboratory setting, often using natural products as inspiration or template. The Reggio and Taylor groups specialize in computational chemistry, using computer models to predict which structural characteristics would make a drug more effective. These groups exchange data and ideas, working collectively to discover and optimize promising lead compounds with the ultimate goal of developing them into effective therapeutics.
Success Stories
December 3, 2025
Nature’s Tiny Chemists
Dr. Oberlies’ lab is searching for cancer-fighting compounds in fungi, advancing research on medicinal herbs, and exploring how fu…
September 6, 2017
From lowly fungus to promising therapeutic for drug resistant bacterial infections
Several drug leads isolated from our fungal library and that at Mycosynthetix are showing promising activity in vivo. One of these i…
August 31, 2017
Nanoparticle Delivery Systems Target Cancer Tumors
Nanoparticle (NP)-based drug-delivery systems are frequently employed to improve the intravenous administration of chemotherapy; how…