Group Members

Christoph Selg

Former Post-Doctoral Fellow

PhD in Organic Chemistry, Leipzig University, Germany
selg [ at ] posteo.de

Research Interests:

• Polypharmacology
• HDAC inhibitors
• Proteasome inhibitors
• Carboranes
• Organocatalysis

Co-mentored by Prof. Dr. Finn K. Hansen (Hansen Lab) and Prof. Dr. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins (Hey-Hawkins Lab)

Project Description:

 

Coming from the world of organocatalysis and methodology, my research focus was drawn to medicinal chemistry and therein polypharmacology. We design and synthesize multi-target drugs harnessing the advantages of a more predictable pharmacokinetic profile, the statistically lower probability of developing target-based resistance, the guaranteed simultaneous presence of both modes of action in the target tissue and lower risks of drug-drug interactions. The long-term issue we are trying to circle is the therapy of multiple myeloma where a strong synergistic activity was found in combination therapy comprising histone deacetylase inhibitors and proteasome inhibitors resulting in a reduced tumor cell growth and inducing apoptosis in the target cells. So, what we are doing now, is merging the two different modes of action into one single compound with different linkers, geometries and binding modes until it’s a perfect fit for both targets while maintaining drug-like properties.