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Robert Vince, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Drug Design
Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Contact information
Office: 8-123A Weaver-Densford Hall
Phone: 612-624-9911
Fax: 612-624-0139
E-mail: vince001@umn.edu
Education
B.S., University of Buffalo, 1962
Ph.D., University of Buffalo, 1966
Research Summary
Anti-microbial drugs (antibiotics)
Over the years, bacteria have increasingly developed resistance to traditional antibiotics. Research on new antibiotics to fight infections caused by these super-resistant bacteria is currently underway in our labs. We are focusing on creating derivatives of vancomycin and penicillins to overcome bacterial resistance.
Anti-viral drugs
Our laboratory researches new anti-viral drugs and focuses in particular on developing new treatments for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The virus which causes AIDS relies on several unique viral proteins which do not occur naturally in the human body. Our goal is to design novel molecules which block the chemical reactions carried out by these viral proteins, thereby preventing the virus from growing in the human body.
One of the viral proteins, reverse transcriptase, assembles genetic building blocks to make copies of the viral genetic material. We designed modified genetic building blocks (such as carbovir, shown on the right) which interfere with reverse transcriptase without harming the proteins responsible for maintaining the human body's genetic material. This research led to the development of the commercially available anti-HIV drug Ziagen®.
We are currently investigating possible new drugs targeting the reverse transcriptase, protease, and integrase enzymes of HIV.
Other areas of focus for our anti-viral programs are Herpes, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
Cancer Therapy
Cancer typically involves damage to the human body's genetic material. Several anti-cancer projects are ongoing based on our extensive history of creating modified genetic building blocks. In fact, the development of our anti-viral program and the successful design of the AIDS drug was a spin off of our anti-cancer drug program. Since most of the successful anti-tumor drugs are modified genetic building blocks, we continue to work in this area for the discovery of new cancer drugs.
We have also recently initiated a program to study Vitamin C in cancer chemoprevention and treatment. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, but we have found some additional interesting properties of Vitamin C that have potential for anti-cancer and cancer chemopreventive applications. We are studying these properties and will use our results to redesign the molecule into a more stable and effective potential drug.
A detailed research description and publication list is also available.
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