 Most diseases result from an imbalance or perturbation in a signal transduction network. To reliably discover medicines to treat these conditions, we must acquire a more comprehensive view of the complexities, interconnectivities and “drugability” of major signaling pathways associated with disease. In the Developmental and Molecular Pathways group we are applying a multi-disciplinary approach to elucidate the best therapeutic intervention points within these networks.
Our team’s mission is to tackle drug discovery from a signaling pathway perspective versus focusing at the outset on specific targets and traditional disease areas. By exploring fundamental signaling networks that underlie multiple disease processes we hope to provide unique medical insights and therapeutic opportunities. Our short-term goal is to investigate disease-associated signaling pathways as collections of possible therapeutic targets by utilizing sensitized cell-based assays that model a disease state to identify gene and compound modulators (drug targets and leads). Our long-term goal at NIBR is to develop a robust somatic cell genetics-based process to predictably, reliably and systematically move from a pathway/disease link to validated targets and lead compounds.
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