Research Drug Discovery We are interested in developing drug leads/candidates for new targets including kinase, phosphate kinase and protein targets identified by UNC faculty and external investigators. We have successfully used the structure- and/or ligand-based drug design approaches to deliver compounds to clinic (MerTK inhibitors) or licensing (IDH1 inhibitor, co-developed with NCATs). We will continue to apply the similar approaches for drug discovery towards new targets. Synthetic Methodology Development Heterocyclic compounds are widely used in drug discovery as key pharmacophores. However, some are not readily available and are difficult to prepare in the variety and quantities needed for structure-activity relationship studies. We are currently interested in developing short, effective and robust synthetic routes for these heterocycles.