Scientists at Georgia State Univesity are active in designing and developing new pharmaceutical agents. Theses scientists constitute a strong drug design and synthesis group, with expertise ranging from organic synthesis and computer-aided drug design to experimental verification of the interaction of drugs with their bioreceptors (DNA, RNA and proteins). In fact, in 1988 the National Institute of Health designated this Georgia State University unit as a National Cooperative Drug Discovery Group for the development of anti-HIV therapy. In addition to anti-HIV compounds, drugs are being developed to counteract the opportunistic infections and neoplasms that arise in immunocompromised patients.

Drug Design and Synthesis Group

Stuart Allison
(Ph.D., University of Washington)

Al Baumstark
(Ph.D., Harvard University)

David W. Boykin
(Ph.D., University of Virginia)

Dabney Dixon
(Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Davon Kennedy
(Ph.D., Emory University)

Lucjan Strekowski
(Ph.D., Polish Academy of Sciences)

W. David Wilson
(Ph.D., Purdue University)

Projects directed by the Drug Design and Synthesis Group:

• study of the interaction of drugs with nucleic acids
• design of novel heterocyclic therapeutic agents
• study of bleomycin anti-cancer activity
• analysis of electrostatic interactions between protein targets for drug therapy
• design of heterocyclic compounds as anti-HIV and anti-PCP agents
• use of porphyrins in anti-HIV therapy
• design of heterocyclic compounds as therapeutic agents