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BSI Seminar: Dr Manuela Jörg, Development of novel bivalent chemical probes to interrogate human biology
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29 May 2024 - 29 May 2024
11:00AM - 12:00PM
CG60 (Department of Chemistry)
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Registration is free
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A special BSI Seminar, introducing Dr Manuela Jörg who is a Monash and Newcastle University Research Fellow. The talk will be focussed on: Development of novel bivalent chemical probes to interrogate human biology
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Development of novel bivalent chemical probes to interrogate human biology
BSI Seminar
Wed 29th May, 11am CG60 (Department of Chemistry)
An opportunity for the Durham biophysics community to meet Dr Manuela Jörg.
Development of novel bivalent chemical probes to interrogate human biology
Abstract
Drug discovery programs are typically characterised by a high attrition rate, whilst clinically approved drugs are often associated with severe side effects. The inadequate fundamental understanding of the complexity of chemical reactions that underly human biology has been largely attributed to the disappointing progress in drug development. Daily, many billion chemical reactions are performed in our body for it to work effectively. The human body is a complex system, where atoms and molecules play a central role in maintaining the function of our body, including our ability to sleep, breath, move or communicate. Consequently, there is a crucial need to improve our knowledge of human biology on a molecular level. Our research aims to significantly contribute closing this knowledge gap by developing chemical probes that can be used as tools to study important biological processes.
Specifically, we are interested in the design of novel bivalent probes to study protein degradation, receptor dimerisation and antibody delivery systems. These concepts are of high importance to the drug discovery community, yet our understanding of these systems on a molecular level remains limited and is haltering the development of more effective and innovative drugs that benefit patients. Therefore, there is a need to develop innovative bivalent probes to dissect the detailed mechanism underlying these systems. Innovative chemical probes are desperately needed to advance chemical biology strategies with increased biological relevance, that overcome the limitations of artificial systems (e.g. approaches relying on tagged or fusion constructs) that are commonly used.
Short Bio
Dr Manuela Jörg is a Monash and Newcastle University Research Fellow based at the Monash Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences. She obtained a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Monash University, in addition to a Bachelor and Masters in Chemistry at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and the University of Basel, respectively. Prior to her academic career, she completed an apprenticeship as a chemical lab-technician and has experience working in industrial and government organisations. Dr Jörg has extensive experience in the synthesis of small molecule drugs and pharmacological tool compounds targeting a range of therapeutic drug targets. Since being promoted to lab head and research fellow in 2020, her research focuses on the development of novel chemical probes and small molecule drugs for a range of drug targets with the aim to improving our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying diseases and drug interactions. She has been awarded numerous competitive awards, including the selection for the VESKI Inspiring Women side by side Program (2021), the Merck Innovation Cup (2016) and as a SciFinder Future Leader (2015).
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Registration is free