Designing safer drugs that avoid side effects by targeting the right receptor partners
Improving drug design to eliminate side effects: From computational to animal models
This project works to make nuclear receptor drugs bind the right partner proteins so treatments for cancers and other diseases cause fewer side effects.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (University Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11014658 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, researchers are using computer models, reconstructed ancestral proteins, lab tests, and animal models to learn how nuclear receptor drugs choose partner proteins in different tissues. They will profile many receptor–coregulator interactions and use biophysical studies to predict which drug shapes lead to tissue-specific activity. Most work is done in cells and animals rather than people, but the findings are intended to guide the design of safer, more selective drugs. If the approach succeeds, future therapies could treat disease with fewer unwanted effects.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People treated with or eligible for nuclear receptor–targeting therapies (for example certain hormone-driven cancers or metabolic disorders) would be the eventual candidates to benefit from drugs developed this way.
Not a fit: Because this is early laboratory and animal research, patients needing immediate treatment or those with conditions unrelated to nuclear receptors are unlikely to see direct benefits from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to cancer and other receptor-targeting drugs that work where needed while causing fewer side effects.
How similar studies have performed: Some prior studies have produced selective nuclear receptor modulators, but this specific mix of ancestral reconstruction, computational biophysics, and high-throughput profiling is novel and remains largely preclinical.
Where this research is happening
University Park, United States
- Pennsylvania State University, the — University Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Okafor, C. Denise — Pennsylvania State University, the
- Study coordinator: Okafor, C. Denise
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.