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Drug Design Lab

Virtual Drug Design

Drug design refers to the inventive process of creating new compounds and medications based on our knowledge of a biological target. Often, this biological target is a protein that may be inhibited to provide a therapeutic effect. A detailed understanding of a protein’s structure and function is often required in the design of novel inhibitors. The Mahajan laboratory utilizes virtual, or computer-aided, drug design methods to model new compounds that are complementary to a target protein’s shape and charge. These virtually-designed lead-like compounds are then synthesized in collaboration with Stanford’s Medicinal Chemistry Knowledge Center (MCKC) for biochemical and cellular testing.

 

Drug Repositioning

The development of new drugs can cost upward of a billion dollars and take over a decade before the drug reaches the market. Drug repositioning makes use of existing drugs for the treatment of diseases where there are few therapeutic options. This approach can provide a safer alternative to the development of new compounds, since repurposed drugs are already FDA-approved, have proven bio-availabilities, and well-characterized side-effect profiles. To identify which drugs to reposition, our laboratory performs proteomic analyses of liquid biopsies (e.g. vitreous or aqueous humor) from diseased patients to identify drug targets and biomarkers. This approach allows for rapid, real-time repositioning of available drugs to patients with few therapeutic options. 

Projects

Structure-based drug design for inherited eye diseases.
Identifying available drugs to treat patients with rare diseases using proteomics.

News

Oct 19 2023 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
  Palo Alto, CA — The eyes may be a window into the soul, but Stanford research scientists are now showing the eyes may also be a window into overall human health. 
Jul 25 2023 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
    Palo Alto, CA — Elena Wang came to the Mahajan Lab in 2021 a novice and is leaving a seasoned scientist ready to take on the challenges she will face as a Ph.D. student at Columbia University this fall. 
Nov 4 2022 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
Sep 27 2022 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
San Francisco, CA —Mahajan lab postdoctoral fellows Young Joo Sun Ph.D. and David Dennis Ph.D. attended the inaugural Chemical Biology Symposium hosted by UCSF’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute, which had been delayed by COVID.
Aug 9 2022 | Posted In: 20/20 Blog
 

Publications

The Present and Future of Mitochondrial-Based Therapeutics for Eye Disease., Ji, Marco H., Kreymerman Alexander, Belle Kinsley, Ghiam Benjamin K., Muscat Stephanie P., Mahajan Vinit B., Enns Gregory M., Mercola Mark, and Wood Edward H. , Transl Vis Sci Technol, 2021 07 01, Volume 10, Issue 8, p.4, (2021)
Liquid biopsy proteomics of uveal melanoma reveals biomarkers associated with metastatic risk., Velez, Gabriel, Nguyen Huy V., Chemudupati Teja, Ludwig Cassie A., Toral Marcus, Reddy Sunil, Mruthyunjaya Prithvi, and Mahajan Vinit B. , Mol Cancer, 2021 02 24, Volume 20, Issue 1, p.39, (2021)
Structure-based phylogeny identifies Avoralstat as a TMPRSS2 inhibitor that prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection in mice., Sun, Young Joo, Velez Gabriel, Parsons Dylan E., Li Kun, Ortiz Miguel E., Sharma Shaunik, McCray Paul B., Bassuk Alexander G., and Mahajan Vinit B. , J Clin Invest, 2021 Apr 12, (2021)
Peptidomimetics Therapeutics for Retinal Disease., Parsons, Dylan E., Lee Soo Hyeon, Sun Young Joo, Velez Gabriel, Bassuk Alexander G., Smith Mark, and Mahajan Vinit B. , Biomolecules, 2021 Feb 24, Volume 11, Issue 3, (2021)
Retinal Manifestations of Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation Disorders., Oh, Jin Kyun, de Carvalho Jose Ronaldo Li, Nuzbrokh Yan, Ryu Joseph, Chemudupati Teja, Mahajan Vinit B., Sparrow Janet R., and Tsang Stephen H. , Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2020 Oct 01, Volume 61, Issue 12, p.12, (2020)
Intravitreal methotrexate and fluocinolone acetonide implantation for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada uveitis., Park, Jong G., Callaway Natalia F., Ludwig Cassie A., and Mahajan Vinit B. , Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep, 2020 Sep, Volume 19, p.100859, (2020)