Launch Proposals Funded (Round 1 and Round 2)

UICentre announces a collaboration with the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) to fund new drug discovery projects.

In Round 1 (February 2024), two awards of $30K were made:

Searching for inhibitors of the bacterial peptidyl tRNA hydrolase
Prof. Alexander Mankin (Pharm. Science, Pharmacy)
This proposal aims to discover inhibitors of peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase as progenitors of a novel class of non-ribosomal antibiotics

Discovery of novel inhibitors to treat heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Prof. J.-P. Jin (Physiology & Biophysics, Medicine) and Prof. Pavel Petukhov (Pharm. Sci, Pharmacy). This proposal aims to identify small molecule modulators of cardiac muscle myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, that could ultimately treat diastolic heart failure

In Round 2 (October 2024), one award of $50K was made

Development of Small Molecule Inhibitors for Cardiac Arrest
Prof. Terry Vanden Hoek, Prof. Jing Li, Prof X.D. Zhu (Emergency Medicine, Medicine)
This proposal aims to identify small molecule analogs of UIC101, a peptide which inhibits the PHLPP-NHERF1 interaction and improves survival in animal models of cardiac arrest.