Informing Therapeutic Interventions with Mechanism-Based Pharmacology and Toxicology

Monday, October 24, 2011 — Concurrent Symposia Session I
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Balcony A

Co-chairs

• Minkyung (Min) Song, NCI
• Juan Lertora, CC

Program

It is essential to translate mechanisms of drug action and toxicity into efficient discovery and development of safe and effective therapeutics. Elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying disease pathogenesis and differential responses to drugs in individual patients will inform rational development of therapeutic interventions. Such research efforts will allow scientists to contribute to reducing late-stage drug attrition due to unanticipated toxicity or lack of clinical efficacy. During this symposium, the speakers will discuss: mechanism-based repurposing of an agent for potential treatment of various liver diseases; development of therapeutic strategies and novel bioactive substances by understanding molecular pharmacology and toxicology of candidate agents; mechanisms of microbial drug resistance within the host; incorporation of molecular characteristics and biological functions of therapeutic targets during the discovery of drug candidates; identification of somatic activating mutations in the disease pathway to inform targeted therapies; and use of positron emission tomography tracers as molecular imaging probes to guide the development of therapeutic interventions.

Role of Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP-1) in Liver Injury, Inflammation, and Fibrosis *FARE Award Winner
Bela Horvath, NIAAA

Bench-to-Bedside and Back-to-the-Bench: Development of Novel Therapeutic Agents
William Figg, NCI

The Relationship Between Cryptococcal Adaptation to Azole Drugs and Azole Therapy Failure
June Kwon-Chung, NIAID

Therapeutic Interventions Based on G Protein-Coupled Receptors for Extracellular Nucleosides and Nucleotides
Kenneth Jacobson, NIDDK

Somatic Activating Mutations in the PI3K Pathway Informing Targeted Therapies of Endometrial Cancer
Daphne Bell, NHGRI

Positron Emission Tomography: A Tool to Study Pathophysiology and Facilitate Therapeutic Drug Development
Robert Innis, NIMH

back to top