Understanding and designing cyclic peptides for targeting protein interactions
Official title: Understanding and designing cyclic peptides
Funded at Tufts University Medford · NIH-11364190 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research project aims to design cyclic peptides that can modulate protein–protein interactions to enable new therapeutic strategies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tufts University Medford NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 20, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $316,527 |
| NIH project number | 5R01GM124160-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11364190 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients whose diseases involve critical protein–protein interactions that could be targeted by cyclic peptides.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose disease is not driven by PPIs or cannot be reached by cyclic peptide strategies may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project focuses on creating cyclic peptides that can selectively affect protein–protein interactions, which are important for many diseases but hard to target with traditional drugs. It will explore how to balance binding strength, solubility, and cell permeability using machine learning to guide design. The work combines chemistry, biology, and data science to push toward practical, drug-like cyclic peptide candidates.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could lead to new drugs that precisely modulate disease-related protein interactions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows a small number of cyclic peptide drugs exist, and ML-guided design is an emerging, promising approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Tufts University Medford
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lin, Yu-Shan — Tufts University Medford
- Study coordinator: Lin, Yu-Shan
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Lactobacillus helpers to support healthy pregnancies
A small study will test how friendly vaginal bacteria produce anti-inflammatory compounds that may protect pregnancy by reducing harmful inflammation.
-
Rapid, at-home test for galactosemia biomarker gal-1P
A new sensor device will let people with classic galactosemia and their caregivers monitor gal-1P levels at home or in clinics.
-
Targeted lysosomal RNA degradation for disease-relevant RNAs
A new approach uses tiny molecules to tag specific RNAs for destruction inside cells, with the goal of helping diseases linked to RNA problems.
-
Chemical tools to map how glycation and ubiquitination control cell signals in cancer and aging
A researcher team is developing new chemical methods to watch how specific protein modifications like glycation and ubiquitination shape cell signaling in living human cells, aiming to uncover targets to prevent or treat cancer and age-related diseases.
-
How Stress Shapes the Brain and Health in Everyday Life
This NIH grant funds a study to understand how stress from daily life affects the brain and body and contributes to health problems like depression, anxiety, heart disease, and diabetes.
-
Graph-tools for uncovering redundant genetic pathways in cancer biology
A research team will build new graph-based methods to map how genes work together in cancer-related networks, helping predict what happens when genes are turned off or stressed.
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.