Overview
Dr. Zhan’s unique structure-and-mechanism-based drug design and discovery efforts through integrated computational-experimental studies have led to the discovery of various novel, promising biopharmaceutical candidates. Two of the biopharmaceutical candidates designed in the Zhan Lab are currently in human clinical development; the Phase II clinical trials have been completed for both of the Investigational New Drugs, showing very positive results without any major adverse effects.
With state-of-the-art facilities, innovative computational modeling/design strategies and approaches, and unique expertise available, MMBC engages UK investigators and beyond with interests in biopharmaceutical design, discovery and development and/or in understanding detailed protein structures and mechanisms of potential drug targets to create unique opportunities of innovative research development and external funding.
Research Highlight: $6M Award to Further Develop Treatment for Cocaine Addiction
The Zhan Lab
The main research interest in the Zhan Lab is drug design, discovery, and development through integrated computational-experimental studies. Drugs designed in the Zhan Lab are either small molecules (such as inhibitors of enzymes or agonists/antagonists of receptor proteins or DNA-binding molecules etc.) or biopharmaceutical agents including peptides/proteins and vaccines etc. A protein/peptide drug could be either a pure protein/peptide (such as a metabolic enzyme or antibody) or an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). In order to rationally design a drug, the Zhan Lab may perform whatever types of molecular modeling, simulation, calculation, analysis, and design that are necessary to achieve the goal for a project. The computational design is followed by wet experimental tests (chemical synthesis, site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression, purification, in vitro activity assays, and in vivo tests, etc.) These experiments are performed either in the Zhan Lab or in close collaboration with internal and/or external experimental laboratories. The unique structure-and-mechanism-based drug design and discovery efforts in the Zhan Lab through integrated computational-experimental studies (supported by NIH, NSF, and other organizations) have been very productive, leading to the discovery of novel, promising biopharmaceuticals, including two that have passed the Phase II clinical trials. The members of the Zhan Lab work in an interdisciplinary research environment.
Since 2005, the members of Zhan Lab have won the following recognitions:
- Emerging Computational Technology Prize (Dr. Zhan), American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Computers in Chemistry, awarded on August 31, 2005. This research award started in 2000 and it was awarded to one scientist per year during the annual Symposium on Emerging Technologies held in the ACS Fall National Meeting. So, as the winner in 2005, Dr. Zhan was the sixth person to receive this award from ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry.
- K. C. Wong Science and Technology Award (Dr. Zhan), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), July 2006.
- Elected Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (Dr. Zhan).
- 2014 AAPS Innovation in Biotechnology Award (Dr. Fang Zheng and Dr. Zhan), American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), awarded during the 2014 AAPS National Biotechnology Conference, May 19-22, 2014.
- NIDA Translational Avant-Garde Award, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), with funding started on September 15, 2015 (Dr. Zhan, Dr. Fang Zheng, and Dr. Sharon Walsh).
- 2016 AAPS Research Achievement Award in Drug Discovery and Development Interface (Dr. Zhan)
- University Research Professorship (Dr. Zhan), University of Kentucky President and Board of Trusty, 2016
- The Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Original Research Scholarship (Dr. Zhan), the University of Kentucky, 2017
- UK Chapter Inductee (Dr. Zhan) of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), 2018
- UK Chapter Inductee (Dr. Fang Zheng) of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), 2018
In addition, multiple graduate students of the Zhan Lab have received national awards:
- Yongmei Pan (Ph.D., 2004-2009), “2007 AAPS Drug Design and Discovery (DDD) Graduate Student Award”.
- Mohamed Diwan Mohideen AbdulHameed (Ph.D., 2004-2009), “2007 Genentech Travel Award to Attend 2007 AAPS Annual Meeting”.
- Mohamed Diwan Mohideen AbdulHameed (Ph.D., 2004-2009), “2008 AAPS Drug Design and Discovery (DDD) Graduate Student Award”.
- Yongmei Pan (Ph.D., 2004-2009), “2008 AAPS DDD Section Travel Award”.
- Liu Xue (Ph.D., 2008-2013), “2011 AAPS Drug Design and Discovery (DDD) Graduate Student Award”.
- Shurong Hou (Ph.D. candidate, 2010-2014), “2013 AAPS Drug Discovery and Development Interface (DDDI) Graduate Student Award”.
- Xiabin Chen (Ph.D. candidate, 2011-present), “2015 AAPS Graduate Student Research Award in Biotechnology”.