Drug Design and Discovery Research Group

The Drug Design & Discovery (DD & D) research group is a model of collaboration between different fields and integrating lines of research aiming at developing new agents that can be used for management of dangerous chronic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The chemical entities developed by the medicinal chemists using computational programs and different chemical synthesis methods in the medicinal chemistry labs are tested for their biological activities and molecular mechanisms by the pharmacologists in the molecular pharmacology lab. The best active compounds are selected for further kinetics, safety, and in-vivo studies. Moreover, the group is interested in studying the molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis and resistance of cancer cells to cancer therapeutics aiming at developing mechanisms/agents that overcome this resistance. The group has many internally and externally funded projects and has collaborated with many regional and international institutions. Many graduate students have done (are doing) the practical part of their thesis in the labs of the group.

Goals:

The DD&D group spans the interface between biology and chemistry. The main goal of the group is finding potent and selective new therapeutic agents through the generation, integration, and translation of scientific knowledge and studying drug targets that are associated with biological dysfunctions with more focus devoted to cancer drug discovery. In addition, mechanisms involved in the resistance and death of cancer cells are part of the group goals.

Objectives:

1. Design and synthesis of novel agents for drug targets, e.g., kinases, topoisomerases and nucleic acids.
2. Discovery and development of new agents that can be used for the management of dangerous chronic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders by utilizing state of the art chemical, pharmacological, analytical and computational methods.
3. Characterization of the molecular mechanisms, biological activities, and safety profiles of novel bioactive agents prepared by the DD&D group.
4. Investigating the molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis and resistance of cancer cells to cancer therapeutics aiming at developing mechanisms/agents that overcome this resistance.
5. Provide undergraduate and postgraduate students with competitive training in drug discovery, synthetic chemistry, molecular pharmacology and advanced analytical and computational techniques.

Funded Research Projects

• Targeting Breast and Prostate Cancer: Design and Synthesis of Novel and Privileged Polycyclic Pyrido[1,2-a]quinolinones, Benzopyranes, and Benzoxepines Motifs
  Principal Investigator: Prof. Taleb H. AlTel
  Funding Agency: Al Jalila Foundation
  Award Amount: 266,000 AED
  (AJF 201531)

• Effect of Tumor microRNA Secretome Before and After Cancer Chemotherapy on Heart and Skeletal Muscle Morphology and Function
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Rafaat El-Awady
  Funding Agency: Al Jalila Foundation
  Award Amount: 295,000 AED

• OSU-2S Combinatorial Approach: The Next Level in Tackling Cancer Cell Survival
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Hany A. Omar
  Funding Agency: Al Jalila Foundation
  Award Amount: 245,000 AED

• Targeted Cancer Drug Design: Selective Targeting of HDACs Using Diversity-Oriented Organic Synthesis and In Silico-Aided Drug Design Strategies
  Principal Investigator: Prof. Taleb H. AlTel
  Funding Agency: Terry Fox Foundation
  Award Amount: 127,000 AED

• Discovery, Development, and Molecular Mechanism of Novel Inhibitors of Human Hexokinase 2 as Anticancer Therapeutics
  Co-Principal Investigator: Prof. Taleb H. AlTel
  Supporting Institution: New York University Abu Dhabi
  Funding Agency: Terry Fox Foundation
  Award Amount: 127,000 AED

• Design and Discovery of Lead Drug Candidates: Targeting Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer
  Principal Investigator: Prof. Taleb H. AlTel
  Funding Agency: KEF Holding Foundation
  Award Amount: 100,000 AED

• Novel Approaches Toward the Discovery of Drugs for the Treatment of Diabetes, Obesity, and Cancer
  Principal Investigator: Prof. Taleb H. AlTel
  Funding Agency: National Research Foundation (NRF)
  Award Amount: 200,000 AED

• Multiple Grants Supporting Graduate Student Research Projects
  Supporting Organization: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical Company

• Design, synthesis and development of new anticancer agents.
• Studying molecular mechanisms of resistance to anticancer agents.
• Use of combination therapy to improve response to cancer therapeutics.
• Design, synthesis and development of new antibacterial agents.
• Synthesis of Novel and privileged compound libraries.
• Biophysical characterization of Drug-DNA interactions.
• Blood-brain barrier in health and disease.
• Metabolic profiling of different types of biological cells and bio-marker identifications.