Drug Discovery Seminar - Frederick Valeriote, PhD

Discovery and Development of Anticancer Drugs from

Natural Products

One area of my lab research involves the discovery and development of anticancer compounds with solid tumor selectivity from a variety of natural products: both plants and marine organisms-sponges, fungi, cyanophytes. The need for new and effective anticancer drugs is critical given the paucity of effective agents active against major human solid tumor types including brain, pancreas, lung, ovary and liver as well as for metastatic and resistant tumors. A unique disk diffusion assay both identifies solid tumor selectivity leads in the initial extracts and directs the fractionation and isolation of the candidate anticancer agents. The assay includes major solid tumor types in vitro (brain, ovary, pancreas, liver, lung, prostate, colon and breast). All lead compounds proceed through our drug development paradigm to determine their clinical potential defining: IC50 values, concentration-clonogenic values, maximum tolerated dose studies, PK studies (plasma and tumor levels) and finally efficacy trials in tumor-bearing mice.

Date:  Friday, October 8, 2021

Time:  09:00

Location:  IQ Building Lobby

Host:  Dr. Edmund Ellsworth (ellswo59@msu.edu)

Link to recorded talk:  https://youtu.be/jaMuUL8CQnQ