136th Colloquium

Title: Drug Design and Screening to Combat Infectious Diseases and Cancer.
Speaker: Thanyada Rungrotmongkol, Department of Biochemistry, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.
Date: 17 November 2023
Time: 10:00-11:00
Venue: Center for Computational Sciences, Meeting Room B 
Language: English

Abstract:
Cancer remains a significant global health challenge, imposing a substantial burden on nations across the world, and stands as a prominent cause of both mortality and morbidity. In the field of cancer therapy, Janus kinase (JAK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) have been known as promising targets due to their pivotal roles in regulating cancer cell proliferation and survival. Specifically, the approach of targeting hyperactive kinases presents a hopeful path towards reducing cancer-related deaths. In this study, we applied in silico screening techniques to identify potential candidates for anti-cancer drugs, encompassing both natural products and their synthetic counterparts, with a primary focus on JAKs and EGFR tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK). Following this, the selected compounds underwent experimental investigations to evaluate their biochemical effectiveness, ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells, and patterns of kinase selectivity. Our research endeavors represent a collective pursuit aimed at not only discovering novel anti-cancer medications but also comprehensively unraveling the intricate details of how these compounds are recognized and interact at the molecular level.