The Gulf Coast Consortium (GCC) has developed a very innovative model for supporting academic drug discovery research by bringing together scientists from different universities to create a collaborative network of specialized and non-duplicative core facilities. The GCC Drug Discovery Resource Center (DDRC), a part of this GCC network of core facilities, has developed a high-throughput screening program that allows cancer researchers to test thousands of drugs, either alone or in combination, for activity against many types of cancer. As a resource center that serves all the Texas Medical Center institutions, the DDRC avoids the wasted effort and resources that would follow if each institut...
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The Gulf Coast Consortium (GCC) has developed a very innovative model for supporting academic drug discovery research by bringing together scientists from different universities to create a collaborative network of specialized and non-duplicative core facilities. The GCC Drug Discovery Resource Center (DDRC), a part of this GCC network of core facilities, has developed a high-throughput screening program that allows cancer researchers to test thousands of drugs, either alone or in combination, for activity against many types of cancer. As a resource center that serves all the Texas Medical Center institutions, the DDRC avoids the wasted effort and resources that would follow if each institution set up its own programs. Since 2015, the screening program has supported 148 projects from 9 universities and companies, it has contributed to >150 publications and 5 ongoing or recently completed clinical trials. The DDRC’s aims are as follows: Aim 1. To support the application of high throughput library screening technologies to mechanistic, combinatorial and radiosensitizer screening projects Aim 2. To establish a new peptide and small molecule probes program that uses Artificial Intelligence to support the synthesis, testing and optimization of molecular probes for cancer research studies. Aim 3. To serve as a component of the GCC’s drug discovery ecosystem, providing support for research, training and commercialization programs. The importance of the DDRC is reflected in the roster of research projects that are poised to use it services if the application is funded. The proposed projects include studies from young scientists as well as seasoned investigators. They include studies with established cancer drugs as well as those with antibodies and even immune cells. The projects target breast, colon, and head and neck cancers as well as a specific leukemia that affects children with Downs Syndrome.
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