We are actively engaged in drug discovery efforts via the shared resources of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Psychoactive Drug Screening Program. Our goals are to discover and develop novel small molecule probes for in vitro and in vivo validation of molecular targets for therapeutic drug discovery. We have particular strengths with GPCR and ion-channels and have expanded our capabilities to enable screening of the entire GPCR-ome in massively parallel screening campaigns (see Keiser et al, Nature 2009; Huang et al, Nature in press and Kroeze et al, Nature Structural Biology 2015 for recent papers).

Peptides and DNA represent two of the most attractive categories of molecules for the construction of nanomaterials for biology and medicine. Peptides provide a rich palette of biological functionality and self-assembly behavior and DNA can be used to construct complex nanostructures with programmable, dynamic properties. Dr. Freeman has sought to merge the advantages of these two molecular platforms through the use of peptide-DNA, P-DNA, hybrid biomaterials and utilize them to mimic the extracellular environment. The reversibility and tunability enabled by the DNA will be new handles for us to study dynamic properties of soft materials.

Kyoungtea Kim obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Biotechnology and Bioscience from Konkuk University, South Korea, and earned his doctorate at University of Wisconsin-Madison in Molecular and Environmental Toxicology, under the supervision of Joel A. Pedersen. His background is in nanomaterial interactions at nano-bio interfaces. As part of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, his research interests currently lie in polymeric nano-formulations of drug molecules in order to enhance the extent of drug delivery. Outside the lab, he likes to explore coffee shops, experience different cultures, and listen to music.