Research lines
The activities of the Drug Design and Discovery group are focused on the following research lines:
- GPCR ligands
- Design and QSAR analysis of MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptor ligands
- Kinase inhibitors
- Design and synthesis of IV generation EGFR inhibitors
- Modulators of Protein-Protein Interaction
- Design and synthesis of small molecules acting as Eph-ephrin antagonists
- Design and synthesis of small molecules acting as FGF traps
- Modulators of the Endocannabinoid System
- Design and QSAR analysis of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitors
- Design and QSAR of analysis N-Acylethanolamine Acid Amidase (NAAA) inhibitors
- Design and synthesis of Monoglyceride Lipase (MGL) inhibitors
Areas of general interest for the Drug Design and Discovery group are:
- Chemometrics applied to untargeted lipidomic data
- Discovery and development of thiol-interacting drugs
- Enzymatic reaction simulations by hybrid QM/MM approach
- Conformational analysis of small molecules in solutions
These activities are managed in collaboration with other teams of the University of Parma:
- Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale
- Experimental Oncology Lab - Prof. Pier Giorgio Petronini, Prof. Roberta Alfieri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Lab - Prof. Barbara Montanini,
- Stress Physiology Lab - Prof. Andrea Sgoifo
- Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti e del Farmaco
- Pharmacology Lab - Prof. Elisabetta Barocelli, Prof. Massimiliano Tognolini
or with research groups belonging to other institutions:
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, US
- Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Traslazionale - Università degli Studi di Brescia
- Prof. Marco Presta, Prof. Marco Rusnati
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomolecolari - Università degli Studi di Urbino
- Prof. Gilberto Spadoni, Prof. Giorgio Tarzia
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, UK
