Contact
Research
Research in the Ciulli Lab broadly spans the fields of Chemical Biology and Structural Biology of Protein-Protein Interactions (PPIs) and is specifically concerned with studies of druggability of PPIs to small molecule modulators. Of particular interest are protein surfaces and interfaces recognizing protein Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs) within multi-domain and multi-subunit protein complexes. We employ a question-driven, multi-disciplinary approach that combines chemical, biophysical and structural techniques with the concepts and approaches of fragment-based and structure-based drug design. The 'chemical probes' we design and develop are evaluated biophysically, structurally and whenever possible within living cells as tools to address biological questions, and as starting leads with potential to be developed as novel therapeutics.
Current and future research efforts are directed towards targeting PPIs and PTM recognition within two protein families of biological and medical relevance:
Ubiquitin System: the Cullin RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) multisubunit complexes
Chromatin System: Multidomain proteins of containing paired domains of the epigenetic reader families
Teaching
BS42011: A 4th year mocule entitled "Advanced Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology"
Stories
Press Release
The expansion of an exemplary industry-academia collaboration will see the University of Dundee intensify its efforts to develop new medicines that target and destroy key cancer-causing proteins, which have previously been regarded as undruggable
Feature
Dundee is front and centre of a revolution in drug design.
Press Release
A new translational research centre will bolster the University of Dundee’s world-leading position in a field that is revolutionising drug discovery, while helping to facilitate the development of high growth companies and create skilled jobs.