Targets, Structures and Drugs

Program summary

The Targets, Structures and Drugs (TSD) Research Program is comprised of faculty members at Purdue University with the mission to accelerate the discovery, development, and evaluation of small molecule agents and biologics with anti-cancer potential through a pipeline reinforced by the member faculty with broad expertise in the drug development process. This is achieved by harnessing the TSD world-class expertise in synthetic chemistry, macromolecular structure determination, creation of targeted agents, screens to identify new cancer targets, hit-to-lead maturation, preclinical testing, and clinical evaluation of new therapeutic modalities in canine tumor models that are more reflective of the human condition. Towards this central mission, TSD focuses on:

  • Expanding and diversifying cancer drug discovery
  • Enhancing the molecular-level understanding of cancer biology and mechanisms
  • Creating and validating novel computational tools for drug discovery
  • Applying novel tools to the development of new cancer solutions
  • Accelerating the movement of therapeutics toward clinical application

Core TSD Program strengths are its basic science focus and its capacity to transform fundamental knowledge into new cancer therapies.

The Institute for Cancer Research also inspires the continuing development of scientific leaders in cancer research through innovative training and mentoring.

The TSD Program membership is broken into three subgroups; Chemical & Structural Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Target Validation. Membership breakdown can be found here.

Program leaders 

Debbie Knapp, co-leader (Veterinary Clinical Sciences)

Herman Sintim, co-leader (Chemistry)

John Tesmer, co-leader (Biological Sciences)

View our entire membership list.