An interdisciplinary approach towards the development of a disease-stabilizing treatment for Alzheimer's disease

The aim of this research is to develop small drug-like molecules that concomitantly prevent the aberrantmisfolding and aggregation of amyloid beta, tau and alpha-synuclein - three amyloid peptides implicated in thepathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). With a Canadian-based biotechnology company (TreventisCorporation) identified as a potential industrial partner, the technology will be transferred with the aim ofdeveloping a disease-modifying drug to treat AD. Through a multi-disciplinary collaboration, the followingobjectives will be achieved: 1) A series of recently identified New Chemical Entities (NCEs) will be screenedin vitro through a battery of anti-aggregation and cell toxicity assays (Weaver group -biochemistry/microbiology); 2) 120 NCEs will be synthesized in total by the medicinal chemistry group (Reedgroup - medicinal chemistry) and optimized for drug-like properties and anti-aggregant potency; and 3) Newpalladium-catalyzed technology will be developed and utilized to allow access to the core structure of thetargeted NCEs, thereby allowing access to structural variation within the NCE family that would otherwise notbe feasible by use of conventional synthetic organic methods (Stradiotto group - inorganic chemistry andcatalysis). This novel, multi-component collaboration will be crucial for the success of this project, and willprovide an ideal platform for interdisciplinary training in the translational chemistry of drug design withemphasis on addressing AD - one of the most pressing health-care challenges facing modern society.