The Centre for Chemical Biology has established research programmes that aim to design and synthesise inhibitors of key biological and cellular processes (e.g. key enzymes, receptors, cell signalling pathways etc.) and to develop potential lead drug candidates. These programmes range from the identification of novel biological targets for therapeutic intervention, the synthesis of molecular probes to investigate the fundamental mechanisms involved through to the design and production of potential drug candidates through modern synthetic or biosynthetic approaches.  In all these projects the underlying long term goal is the development of better strategies for the treatment of diseases.

Projects include:

• Probes and inhibitors of protein kinases in the malaria parasite, P.falciparum.
• Selective inhibition of CDK4 as a strategy for control of cell proliferation.
• Design and synthesis of novel glycosidase inhibitors.
• Probes and inhibitors of the spliceosome
• Biosynthetic engineering of amphotericin analogues
• Studies on the tryptophan dioxygenases.

• Mechanistic Studies on Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (Wellcome Trust). Raven, Chapman (Heriot Watt University)
• Design and Synthesis of Mammalian and Malarial Protein Kinase Inhibitors. (BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, Hope Foundation)
  Burley, Cullis, Jenkins, Schmid, Tobin, Doerig (Inserm U609, Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Global Health Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
• Novel Spliceosome Inhibitors. Handa, Eperon
• Heterocyclic Compounds - Glycosidase Inhibitors and Nicotinic Acetylcholine Agonists. Cullis, Handa, Jenkins
• Biosynthetic Engineering of Amphotericin Analogues. (BBSRC). Rawlings, Caffrey (University College Dublin)

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