Drug Discovery | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Popov, Konstantin WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Biochemistry & Biophysics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Drug Discovery	The Popov Lab develops inventive, cutting-edge approaches to solve problems in modern computational structural biology and drug discovery. Their computational research, in collaboration with experimental screening and medicinal chemistry efforts in the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery enables the identification of novel chemical probes and drug candidates to advance understanding of biological processes.
Peng, Aimin WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology, Oral & Craniofacial Biomedicine, Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Cancer Biology, Cancer Preclinical Models, Cancer Signaling & Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Cell Cycle, Drug Discovery	Our overarching goal is to delineate how cells respond to cancer therapeutics that induce DNA damage, and, accordingly, to develop new strategies that overcome treatment resistance in cancer, including head and neck cancer. To achieve this goal, we study new mechanisms of the cell cycle and DNA repair using comprehensive experimental systems; we investigate the involvement of these mechanisms in oral cancer progression and resistance; and we develop new therapeutics using cellular, biochemical, and pharmacological approaches.
Sengupta, Soma WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Neuroscience RESEARCH INTEREST Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Neurobiology	I am building a career in both clinical and translational research of brain tumors, primary and those resulting from metastasis. Clinically, I primarily see adult brain tumor patients and conduct/initiate clinical trials to meet the needs of this patient population. On the research side, I have a long-standing research interest in clinically-important membrane transport proteins. I conducted genetic and biochemical research on transporters, channels, and pumps during my doctoral research at the University of Cambridge, my postdoctoral study at Yale University, and various institutions (Yale, Johns Hopkins University, Cambridge) while training in medicine at Cambridge. Membrane transport proteins I have worked on include the proton-ATPase (mentor: C. Slayman) and the TAP transporter (mentor: P. Lehner), which are critical to antigen processing. After receiving my medical degree, I pursued advanced medical and additional research training in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins, Harvard) and received continuous funding from the NIH to pursue this research (NINDS-R25, NCI-K12, NINDS-K08). My first independent appointment as an Assistant Professor, Neuro-oncologist was at Emory University in 2016. At the University of Cincinnati, I was the Associate Director of the UC Brain Tumor Center and a recipient of the Harold C. Schott Endowed Chair. At this time, my lab is focused on: (1) the development of a therapeutic approach for the treatment of primary and pediatric brain tumors, as well as cancers that commonly metastasize to the CNS (lung and melanoma); and (2) translation of technological advances that may impact treatment and quality of life in patients with cancer.
Miao, Yinglong WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Pharmacology RESEARCH INTEREST Aging/Alzheimer's, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Cardiovascular Disease, Computational Biology, Drug Discovery, Pharmacology, Signal Transduction	Our research is focused on the development of novel theoretical and computational methods and AI techniques, which greatly enhance computer simulations and facilitate simulation analysis, and the application of these methods, making unprecedented contributions to biomolecular modeling and drug discovery. In collaboration with leading experimental groups, we combine complementary simulations and experiments to uncover functional mechanisms and design drugs of important biomolecules, including G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), membrane-embedded proteases, RNA-binding proteins, and RNA. At the interface of computational biology, chemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics and pharmacology, our research aims to address three major topics: (i) development of biomolecular enhanced sampling and AI techniques, (ii) multiscale computational modeling of critical cellular signaling pathways, and (iii) AI-driven drug discovery of medically important proteins and RNA for treatments of neurological disorders, heart failure and cancers.
Jull, Ellie EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Drug Discovery, Pharmacology, Translational Medicine	“I am most interested in drug discovery research as it relates to any disease but particularly cancer. I would like to translate my research in vivo to better understand the physiological impact on the disease and how the drug can be improved to reach clinical trials. I have an interest in working towards a certificate in translational medicine too.”
Bingham, Johnna EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Drug Discovery, Molecular Biology	“I’m interested in doing research at the intersection of where chemistry and biology meet and using discovery to improve the lives and health of others.”
Brown, Alex EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Drug Discovery, Pharmacology	“I am interested in researching the factors that underlie the transition from substance use to abuse, particularly in relation to alcohol. The idea that many people in their lifetimes will consume alcohol but only a relatively small subset of them will later develop problems with alcohol has been a driving question. I aim to study this through the use of rodent behavioral models and in vivo and ex vivo techniques.”
Binder, Matt EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Chemical Biology, Drug Discovery, Molecular Medicine	“I would like to use chemical tools to study biological systems and pathways. I am interested in understanding the mechanisms of diseases to find and validate potential drug targets. Hopefully, this knowledge can be used to develop novel therapeutics.”
González Dalmasy, Jose EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Drug Discovery	“I am interested in answering questions related to developing better cancer therapeutics. Whether it’s by discovering novel targets and/or using drug delivery approaches to better bioavailability/efficiency of the compounds themselves.”
Hughes, Jake EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Biophysics, Drug Discovery	“I am interested in exploring the world of novel protein design and development for a variety of applications including disease and drug discovery, novel synthetic methods and environmental impacts.”

Research Interest: Drug Discovery