Medicinal Chemistry

Application of genetic biochemical structural and computational approaches to the study of regulatory interfaces between novel lipid-mediated signal transduction pathways and important cellular and developmental functions.

Coupling of X-ray crystallography with molecular biology, biochemistry, spectroscopy and biophysical methods such as small angle X-ray scattering and deuterium exchange mass spectrometry to understand the chemistry underlying biological mechanisms.

Binding of tailor-made small molecules with protein surfaces, for biomedicinal applications involving targeting diseased cells and perturbing protein-protein interactions.

Mechanistic-driven design and development of new sustainable, catalytic, and asymmetric transformations that can be adapted by the organic, organometallic, and bio(in)organic in the synthesis of medicinally-active compounds

Combination of quantitative biophysics, chemical biology and high-throughput genomics to develop predictive models for the molecular behavior and biological consequences of RNA in cells.

Liu group is aiming to develop novel chemical biology methods for the identification of therapeutics that target human chromatin epigenetics.

Applications of X-ray crystallography, microcalorimetry, and molecular biology to study interactions between proteins and their ligands, substrates or inhibitors.

Chemical Biology with an emphasis on natural product biosynthesis and/or catabolism and the evaluation of novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of cancer or age-related macular degeneration.

Synthetic strategies for degradable polymers derived from natural products, unique macromolecular architectures and complex polymer assemblies, designed for practical implementation in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, as non-toxic anti-biofouling or anti-icing coatings, as materials for microelectronics device applications, or as pollutant remediation systems.

New synthetic methodologies with special attention to late-stage functionalization of complex molecules and boron chemistry; new therapeutic approaches with special attention to targeted protein degradation; structure-based drug discovery.

Inorganic and materials chemistry, focusing on design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) applied to energy-related research (e.g., CO2 capture, H2 storage), catalysis, and biomedical applications.