Drug Discovery Laboratory

The laboratory is focused on the discovery and development of drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases primarily for Alzheimer’s disease. The laboratory is set up to be multifunctional and equipped for chemistry and biology. Activities include most aspects of preclinical drug discovery, from the development of phenotypic screens and target validation to medicinal chemistry for hit-to-lead optimization, in vitro ADMET studies for lead advancement, in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) / pharmacodynamic (PD) testing for target engagement, and lead confirmation. The laboratory is part of the UCLA Alzheimer's Drug Development Network (ADDN), a multi-site network leveraging key UCLA capabilities and outside resources to develop novel therapeutics for AD, at the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Research and Care at UCLA. 

Drug Discovery Lab Website

Latest publications:

• Alam, M.P., Bilousova, T., Spilman, P., Vadivel, K., Bai, D., Elias, C.J., Evseenko, D., John, V. (2018). A Small Molecule Mimetic of the Humanin Peptide as a Candidate for Modulating NMDA-Induced Neurotoxicity. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 9 (3), 462-8.
• Bilousova, T., Elias, C., Miyoshi, E., Alam, M.P., Zhu, C., Campagna, J., Vadivel, K. Jagodzinska, B., Gylys, K., John, V. (2018). Suppression of tau propagation using an inhibitor that targets the DK-switch of nSMase2. BBRC (Just accepted)
• Campagna, J.; Vadivel, K.; Jagodznska, B.; Jun, M.; Bilousova, T.; Spilman, P.; John, V. (2018). Evaluation of an Allosteric Inhibitor Peptide to identify mimetics that can interact with the Loop F region of BACE and prevent APP cleavage. JMB-D-17-00802R2 (Just accepted)
   

Contact: Jesus Campagna at jcampagna@mednet.ucla.edu for more information.