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Targeting Bivalent Menin-MLL Interaction in Leukemia with Small Molecule Inhibitors
Tomasz Cierpicki, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan, United States of America

In this presentation we will discuss development of potent small molecules inhibiting the protein-protein interaction between menin and MLL. These inhibitors demonstrate very potent and specific effects in targeting oncogenic activity of MLL fusion proteins in leukemia.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Robust Three-dimensional Tools to Design Inhibitors Against Drug Targets Which Lack Explicit Specificity
Moses Prabu, Group Leader, Protein Sciences, Berg Pharma, United States of America

The design of robust drugs that specifically block targets with promiscuous binding specificity is a major challenge for structure-based drug design.  Our substrate-envelope approach provides new insights for designing novel inhibitors for targets that are capable of recognizing chemically diverse ligands.

Approaches to the Discovery of Small-molecule MDM2-p53 Inhibitors
Ian Hardcastle, Lecturer, Newcastle University, United Kingdom

The MDM2-p53 protein-protein interaction is a well validated and tractable drug target. Potent small-molecule inhibitors including the Nutlin series have been reported. The approaches for the discovery of MDM2-p53 inhibitors based on the isoindolinone, and pyrrole scaffold will be described.

Lunch and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

CANCELLED - Protein Docking and Conformational Properties of the Interfaces
Ilya Vakser, Professor, The University of Kansas, United States of America

New methodology for structural modeling of PPI is based on rapidly increasing knowledge of protein complexes. The approach is designed for atomic resolution prediction of protein interfaces and assessment of their druggability.

An ACE Method for Monitoring Protein-protein Interactions (PPIs)
Carol Austin, Group Leader, Selcia Limited, United Kingdom

Affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) can readily detect protein-protein interactions in solution, without the need to immobilise protein. The technique is able to detect weak affinity fragments. Examples of ACE PPI assays will be presented.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Library Design for Tackling Protein-protein Interactions: The 2P2I Approach
Philippe Roche, Senior Scientist, National Center for Scientific Research, France

We have developed 2P2IDB, a hand-curated structural database dedicated to PPI with known orthosteric inhibitors. Using structural knowledge from the recent success stories our goal is to derive some common principles to help future target selection by assessing the druggability of PPI and to accelerate the process of drug discovery by improving the quality of chemical libraries dedicated to PPI.

Computational Approaches For The Discovery Of Small Molecule Protein-Protein Interaction Inhibitors
Arnout Voet, Researcher, RIKEN, Japan

First, we will focus on the computational methodology for the discovery of Small Molecule Protien-Protien Interaction Inhibitors (SMPPIIs). Then we focus on 2 different cases in which we were successful for the discovery of first in class SMPPII for new PPI targets.

CANCELLED - Biophotonic Nanoswitches to Control Cell Fate
Rudolf Allemann, Distinguished Research Professor, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

Specific recognition of one protein by another is a fundamental biological mechanism for the regulation of cellular pathways with opportunities for the development of precision research tools and medicines. We have created reversible biophotonic nanoswitches that control commitment to apoptosis.

End of Day One

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

Protein Surface Recogntion by Calixarenes - Assembly and Camouflage
Peter Crowley, Professor, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland

Controlled protein assembly is one of the cornerstones of bionanotechnology. This talk focuses on the use of small molecule mediators to drive protein assembly. Two examples involving sulfonatocalixarene will be presented. The concept of protein camouflage will also be discussed.

Druggability of Dynamic Protein-protein Interfaces
Volkhard Helms, Chair of Computational Biology, Universitat des Saarlandes, Germany

Molecular dynamics simulations of the proteins MDM2, IL-2, Bcl-XL, the XIAP Bir2 domain, and PDK1 identified frequent formation of transition pockets on the protein surfaces. Ligand docking confirmed that these pockets are suitable to bind known ligand molecules.

Lunch and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

The Convergence of Mechanistic Targets for Neurodegeneration and Cancer
James Bibb, Associate Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States of America

The molecular processes that mediate synaptic remodeling required for cognition and neuronal injury appear to share many mechanisms that in non-neuronal populations of cells can induce neoplasia. Evidence in the form of animal models and signal transduction pathways demonstrating this link and the validation of common mechanistic targets for drug discovery will be presented.

Inhibition of Protein-protein Interactions Using Designed Molecules
Andrew Wilson, Reader in Synthetic Chemistry, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

This presentation will describe the design and synthesis of (i) oligoamide based a-helix mimetics and (ii) highly functionalised ruthenium tris(bipyridine) complexes, together with their use as inhibitors of a-helix mediated PPIs and receptors for solvent exposed protein surfaces respectively.

Coffee Break and Networking in the Exhibition Hall

The Development of Stapled Peptides that Modulate the BRCA2-RAD51 Interaction
Chiara Valenzano, Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

The interaction between the human recombinase RAD51 and the hub protein BRCA2 is crucial for the repair of double strand breaks via homologous DNA recombination. We designed and validated stapled peptides as chemical tools to unravel mechanistic aspects of this protein-protein interaction.

Close of Conference