Yung-Chi Cheng, Ph.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
Connecticut
Developing and improving drugs for better treatment of cancer and related diseases
Major advances have been made toward curing cancer through chemotherapy drugs. And scientists have made progress in managing the debilitating side effects associated with therapy, such as viral infections. But if you know someone who recently has undergone chemotherapy, you know that there still is room for great improvement. There is also a critical need to understand why some chemotherapy patients develop a resistance to the drugs used to treat them.
By developing new chemotherapy drugs (and improving the use of those already clinically proven) basic research scientists hope to increase the quality of treatment and the hope for prevention of cancer and cancer-related viral diseases, such as HIV, hepatitis B, and herpes.
NFCR Fellow Expertise
Yung-Chi Cheng, Ph.D., is the leading expert on biochemical and molecular pharmacology. He is the Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology at the Yale University School of Medicine specializing in cancer and viral chemotherapy. Dr. Cheng's research goals are to explore new chemical entities for the treatment of cancer and viral diseases and to improve the chemotherapeutic agents currently being used. Because research in pharmacology requires a knowledge of many areas of science, Dr. Cheng's team at Yale is a multidisciplinary one which includes the study of structural biological aspects of pharmacology, molecular pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry.
NFCR Research Overview
The National Foundation for Cancer Research is supporting Dr. Cheng's efforts to develop new antiviral compounds by studying the functional roles and properties of the proteins specific to viruses such as herpes and human retroviruses like HIV. This knowledge will enable Dr. Cheng to design selective anti-viral compounds by taking advantage of those unique viral behaviors. Dr. Cheng also is exploring the mechanisms of drug toxicity, drug resistance, and development of drug resistance, with a specific emphasis on the process involved in gene amplification and extra chromosomal DNA replication.
NFCR Research Findings
Based on the biochemical studies he has performed thus far, Dr. Cheng's findings suggest that a major tumor suppressor, the p53 protein, could play a critical role for the selectivity of the anti-cancer nucleoside analogs, a class of drugs currently used in chemotherapeutic regimens.
Future Research Goals
Dr. Cheng is preparing further experiments to definitively prove his concept, which could be very important for improving the clinical use of this type of drug with cancer patients. It also could lead to the design and development of new anti-cancer/anti-viral compounds.
Impact on Cancer Prevention, Treatment, or Cure
The result of Dr. Cheng's research could have a major impact not only for basic science in the area of DNA repair but also for the prevention and treatment of cancer and cancer-associated viral diseases. His work and the work of other basic research scientists to understand the pathogenesis of disease could provide new strategies to prevent cancer, diagnose cancer early, identify new targets for drug development, and discover new drugs. Dr. Cheng's work also gives hope for a better prognosis for cancer and more individualized treatment based on the biochemical behavior of cancer cells.
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