Computer-aided drug design research by Olgun Guvench and student Theresa Foster featured on cover of Journal of Computational Chemistry

UNE College of Pharmacy researchers, led by Olgun Guvench, M.D., Ph.D., and in collaboration with University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, published findings in the area of computer-aided drug design selected to be featured as a cover article (Foster TJ, Mackerell AD, Jr., Guvench O. Balancing target flexibility and target denaturation in computational fragment-based inhibitor discovery. J Comput Chem. 2012;33(23):1880-91. ISI Impact Factor: 4.6).

The findings demonstrate the utility of the SILCS (Site Identification by Ligand Competitive Saturation) computational fragment-based drug design technology, previously developed by Guvench and MacKerell, for finding hidden druggable hot-spots in challenging targets, such as those involved in protein-protein interactions. 

Co-author on the publication is Theresa Foster, currently a 4th year UNE Pharm.D. candidate and previously a UNE pre-pharmacy undergraduate student.

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The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.