Duke-NUS Medical Faculty at the moment introduced the appointment of Professor Hendrik Luesch from the College of Florida (UF) as a joint school member. Prof Luesch, a famend determine in pure medication discovery, will bolster analysis in marine biodiversity and drug discovery at Duke-NUS.
The appointment of Prof Luesch, who serves because the Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Pure Merchandise Drug Discovery and Growth on the UF School of Pharmacy, will open new alternatives for underwater discoveries to be made out of unexplored biodiversity.
By becoming a member of Duke-NUS, Prof Luesch, who additionally leads UF’s Centre for Pure Merchandise, Drug Discovery and Growth, will set up a pure products-based drug discovery laboratory on the Faculty, working carefully with school at Duke-NUS, the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Biodiversity Drugs, and different companions. He will even collaborate with Singapore’s Experimental Drug Growth Centre, a nationwide drug discovery and improvement platform that works to maneuver potential drug candidates towards commercialization hosted by the Company for Science, Expertise, and Analysis.
Pure merchandise play a key function in most cancers drug discovery, they usually present the premise to fight fungal and bacterial pathogens and improve pandemic preparedness by delivering antivirals. Greater than 50 per cent of all medication available on the market are impressed by terrestrial pure merchandise, but the best chemical range and inspirations for brand new medicines originate within the ocean.
Professor Luesch, who joins the Most cancers and Stem Cell Biology Programme at Duke-NUS, mentioned:
“The ocean harbors glorious beginning factors for drug discovery, and with this strategic collaboration, we’re poised to unlock the therapeutic potential of marine pure merchandise and lengthen the affect of our work globally.”Â
From antibiotics to blood pressure-lowering medication and ache treatment, nature holds the important thing to many urgent well being challenges. To additional examine the treasures on land and within the sea, we’re delighted to have Dr Luesch be a part of our school. His in depth expertise in marine-based drug discovery enhances our experience in plant-based biodiversity analysis, which is formalised by the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Biodiversity Drugs and can open new avenues for collaboration throughout continents that may ship new therapies for most cancers sufferers world wide.”
Professor Thomas Coffman, Dean of Duke-NUS
Professor Peter W. Swaan, Dean of the UF School of Pharmacy, mentioned:
“Now we have entered a brand new period of pure merchandise science, catalysed by advances in genomic applied sciences and rising computational instruments that speed up drug discovery. Dr Luesch’s appointment at Duke-NUS will place UF on the forefront in triggering a brand new wave of medicines.”
UF harbors a wealthy pipeline of marine preclinical property. One in every of UF’s discoveries from marine cyanobacteria discovered off the coast of the Florida Keys served as the start line for six FDA-approved medication.
Prof Luesch joined the UF School of Pharmacy in 2005 and has revealed greater than 180 journal articles throughout his profession. As well as, he has secured greater than US$22 million in grant funding from businesses such because the Nationwide Institutes of Well being and the Florida Division of Well being.
Duke-NUS is a frontrunner in medical analysis and innovation, with a dedication to bettering affected person care by scientific discovery. This appointment will leverage Duke-NUS’ proximity to the Coral Triangle of Southeast Asia, one of many world’s prime areas for marine biodiversity and pure merchandise drug discovery analysis. Combining this distinctive pure useful resource with the precise expertise will allow the Faculty and Singapore to contribute new therapies that may enhance the lives of sufferers in Singapore and past.
