Development of novel therapeutics
We are engaged in developing novel therapeutic compounds to treat drug resistant bacterial infections using a number of parallel approaches:
a) Together with Sir Mark Welland’s team at the Nanoscience Centre (University of Cambridge), we are exploring how to create nanoparticles containing antibiotics to combat M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria in a programme funded by The Rosetree Foundation.
b) In collaboration with Professor Sir Tom Blundell (Biochemistry; Cambridge) and Professor Chris Abell (Chemistry; Cambridge) we are using Fragment-based drug discovery approaches and developing novel structure- directed applications to develop novel antibiotics for M. abscessus.
c) We are exploring a variety of approaches to enhanced innate immunity through stimulating autophagy, increasing lysosomal function, and regulating Pattern recognition receptor signaling.
Related publications:
Functional drug screening reveals anticonvulsants as enhancers of mTOR-independent autophagic killing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through inositol depletion.
Schiebler M, et al., EMBO Mol Med. 2014 Dec 22;7(2):127-39.
