In an early study, millions of potential small molecules were synthesized, and the small subset that bind to an SH3 domain of interest were selected. Multidimensional NMR was used by two graduate students, Sibo Feng and Hongtao Yu, to determine the structure of a variety of complexes, even ones with peptide small molecules that bind in opposite orientations. In more recent studies, the laboratory is patterning small molecule discovery efforts after those used in genetics to discover mutations. This latest work is providing a blueprint for synthetic chemists to discover their own unique molecules to explore biology. The mission of ICCB is to develop general methods to understand and control the cellular function of proteins using small organic molecules.
Industrial partners benefit at the level of information and communication.
Both the Medical School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard are committed to the success of the project, and have contributed to its founding. ICCB is housed in 12,000 square feet of newly renovated space in the Quadrangle at the Harvard Medical School and supports 50 researchers, including graduate students, postdoctorals, and Institute Fellows. The Center for Genomics Research , recently initiated on the FAS campus in Cambridge, is facilitating, among others, the study of reverse chemical genetics. Discovering small molecule partners on a genome-wide basis is hoped to create a more complete set of reagents for altering the function of known proteins. For further insights into diversity-oriented organic synthesis and chemical genetics, please explore several animations .