Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is ....Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is focused on studying structural features of a range of peptides and their contributions to both activity and to resistance against degradation, with the aim to develop stabilised bioactive peptide sequences for in vivo applications, allowing the full potential of peptides as drugs to be realised.Read moreRead less
Development of effective peptide-based drugs. There is huge interest in the development of bioactive peptides and proteins for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The aim of this research project is to develop potent and effective peptide-based drugs that are able to resist the body's natural degradation pathways so that they can reach their biological target and act as effective drugs.
Development of disulphide-rich peptides for drug design. Peptides are an outstanding source of potential drug leads. This project seeks to build on earlier breakthroughs by developing stable, peptide-based drugs to combat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The peptides, derived from natural sources, are anticipated to provide drug leads that can ultimately lead to treatments for these diseases.