2021 News Archive
Dr. Keith Ellis has received a subcontract from KeViRx
March 23, 2021
Dr. Keith Ellis has received a subcontract from KeViRx, Charlottesville, which has succeeded with an SBIR grant. The PI of SBIR grant is Prof. John Lazo of University of Virginia. The title of his grant is Developing Small Molecule Inhibitors of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases as Cancer Therapeutics. Congratulations, Dr. Ellis.
Dr. Yana Cen Win 2021 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
June 11, 2021
Dr. Yana Cen has been awarded the 2021 Ralph E Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). This award comes with a financial award and an equivalent match from the winner's local institution. Congratulations to her on this prestigious honor. Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)'s original purpose is to advance science and technology education and research by providing access to the atomic energy research facilities of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to faculty and students of universities across the South. Congratulations again Dr. Cen.
Professor, Martin Safo Appointed Interim Director of the Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development
September 7, 2021
Joseph DiPiro, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, has announced that Professor Martin Safo will serve as interim director of the Institute for Structural Biology, Drug Discovery and Development, effective September 1, 2021.
Professor Safo, since 2018 has served as the Director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Structural Biology Core. He is also professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. His areas of expertise include Structural Biology, Hemoglobin Structure and Function, Sickle Cell Disease Drug Development, Vitamin B6 Metabolism and Regulation.
Professor Safo follows Umesh Desai, Ph.D., as director of the Institute who was instrumental in bringing the Institute to the next level. Dr. Desai continues to serve as the Chair of Medicinal Chemistry.
Sickle Cell Researcher Accelerates Drug Discovery with Atomwise Virtual Screening
November 29, 2021
Safo’s team challenged Atomwise’s technology to identify activators and inhibitors for potential targets for sickle cell disease. One target, erythrocyte pyruvate kinase, is part of the glycolysis cycle and is associated with a metabolite that has an allosteric effect on hemoglobin, amplifying symptoms for sickle cell patients. Activating pyruvate kinase could indirectly reduce the metabolite levels and minimize disease impact. On the other hand, inhibiting this target has been shown to impair the survival of cancer cells. Click for entire blog. https://blog.atomwise.com/sickle-cell-researcher-accelerates-drug-discovery-with-atomwise-virtual-screening.