Chemistry
College of Science and Engineering
Twin Cities
Award Year
2016
University Award
McKnight Land-Grant Professorship
Research Title
Inspiration from Fluorination: Teflon Proteins for Protein-Protein Interaction Drug Discovery
No Monument Location
The Pomerantz lab seeks to perturb the physical interaction between proteins termed transcription factors by designing small drug-like molecules. These interactions dictate the information flow inside cells that can ultimately lead to disease. Given that transcription factors represent a major class of potential drug targets, new approaches using fluorine, a unique element on the periodic table, could significantly increase the repertoire of drug targets opening up new avenues for drug/probe discovery.