February 4, 2013
Denis Fourches, PhD, a research assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a $7,500 Junior Faculty Development Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to support his search for small-molecule inhibitors that selectively target p70S6, an enzyme that has been shown to play a critical role in the development of tumor cells.
There is a need to identify potent and selective inhibitors of p70S6 for use in biomedical research, Fourches says. He plans to analyze and model all known p70S6 kinase inhibitors with advanced cheminformatics technologies. He will then use the most predictive models to screen virtual libraries of compounds to identify new p70S6 inhibitors. Fourches says the research could eventually help develop new treatments for cancer, obesity, and diabetes.
Fourches has been a member of the faculty in the School’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry since 2010. Before that, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the School.
Latest News
Dean Angela Kashuba receives Carolina Alumni Faculty Service Award
RASP poster presentations capture student research
