Skip to main content

Ciulli Laboratory

School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

Main menu

  • Home
  • Alessio Ciulli
  • Research
  • Group
  • Publications
  • Positions
  • News
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Alessio Ciulli
  • Research
    • Targeted Protein Degradation: PROTACs
    • Cullin RING E3 Ubiquitin Ligases
    • Chromatin-Reader Domains
    • Fragment-Based Ligand Discovery
    • Chemical Probes
  • Group
    • Past Group Members
    • Past Group Photos
    • Ciulli Lab Cards
    • Group Achievements
  • Publications
    • Journal Club
  • Positions
    • Postdoctoral Scientists
    • Postgraduate Studentships
    • Visiting PhD Students
    • Summer studentships / Internships
  • News
  • Contact

Chemical Structural Biology and Drug Discovery of Targeted Protein Degradation

The Ciulli Laboratory develops novel small molecules inducing targeted protein degradation and modulating protein-protein interactions. We do research on fundamental chemical biology and translate it via collaboration partnership with the biopharma industry and by creation of spin-out companies.

Pioneering discoveries from the Laboratory and others over the past decade have contributed to the advent of a new modality of chemical intervention to study biology and drugs to cure disease. Instead of blocking a target protein as conventionally done with inhibitors, we are designing “tailored” bifunctional molecules that bring a target protein to an E3 ubiquitin ligase for targeted protein degradation. We have illuminated important understanding of how this new class of molecules work that is beginning to define the rules and principles of how to design and study them.

Our research in this area takes a multidisciplinary approach including organic and medicinal chemistry and computational tools to design and achieve desired molecules; structural biology and biophysics to study binary and ternary complexes in solution and reveal their structural and dynamic interactions; and chemical biology, biochemistry, proteomics and cell biology to study the cellular impact of our small molecules into relevant cellular systems and disease models, in collaboration with biologists and medics.

Current research efforts are directed towards:

1. Design and development of PROTACs as chemical tools for probing the biological function and therapeutic potential of compelling targets in cancer and other diseases

2. Structure-guided fragment-based design of novel E3 ligase binding ligands

3. Biochemical, biophysical and structural studies of novel E3 ubiquitin ligases

4. Novel approaches to small-molecule inducible degron technologies

 

  • Electron density map of a small-molecule ligand bound to a protein
  • Dissecting fragment-based lead discovery at protein-protein interfaces
  • A drug bound to its protein target
  • Targeting multi-protein complexes with small molecules
  • Protein-protein interfaces: Molecular insights
  • Biophysical approaches to study protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions
  • A fragment bound to its target binding site
  • Investigating the activity of our chemical probes inside living cells

Latest News

  • Graphical abstract
    Our review on building and hijacking ubiquitination machineries by PROTACs and glues is now out in Current Opinion in Structural Biology
  • Sarah and Kevin
    Welcome to Kevin and Sarah who join the group as postdoc and rotation PhD student, respectively
  • SLAS Discovery journal cover
    Our review covering E3 ligase ligands for PROTACs is now published in SLAS Discovery
  • ToC graphics
    Our review on synthetic medicinal chemistry of phosphotyrosine analogues and phosphomimetics is now published in RSC Medicinal Chemistry

Funding

bbsrc.png

 

Boehringer_Ingelheim_Logo.svg_.png

 

eisai.jpeg

   

erc.png

   

FCT_V_cor_0.jpeg

   

logo-alessio_0.jpg

   

marie.png

 

medresscotlogohighres.png

 

mrc.png

 

Nurix-Logo.jpg

 

 

ono-image.png

 

wellcome-logo-black_0.png

Prof Alessio Ciulli
Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee
Division of Biological Chemistry & Drug Discovery
James Black Centre
Dow Street, Dundee, DD1 5EH
United Kingdom

E-mail: a.ciulli@dundee.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1382 386230
Fax: +44 (0)1382 386373

uni_logo.png