{"id":458,"date":"2018-11-07T20:12:23","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T20:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/translational-research-departments\/drug-discovery\/current-research-topics\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:20:19","slug":"current-research-topics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/translational-research-departments\/current-research-topics\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Research Topics"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-458","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"layers":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layer_content_image","layer_label":"","layer_headline":"","layer_content":"

The Drug Discovery and Nanomedicine program was designed to bridge the gap between academic research and translational applications. Our program is part of the Department of Translational Neurosciences.<\/p>\n

We have strong support from the chair of the Translational Neurosciences department, Dr. Santosh Kesari<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>and his research team, who assist with a variety of drug efficacy studies during the lead optimization process. Our laboratory is specifically designed for drug discovery and nanomedicine research operations, and allows multi-disciplinary collaboration. Our laboratories are fully equipped with advanced instruments to maximize the quality and productivity. Additionally, our program maintains rigorous collaborations with industry-leading CRO’s and academic institutions.<\/p>\n","layer_link":"","layer_img":380,"layer_img_position":"right","layer_img_size":"cover","layer_img_is_fade":true,"layer_background_color":"","layer_id":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"layer_feature_items","layer_label":"","layer_headline":"Current Research Topics","layer_intro":"","layer_feature_col_width":"halves","layer_feature_has_popover":true,"layer_feature_items":[{"icon_svg":"","label":"Development of Novel Small molecule Cancer and Neuroscience Therapeutics for Precision therapy ","excerpt":"Our lab is focused on developing new small molecule therapeutics for clinically relevant prognostic targets in cancer and neuroscience. 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Drug repurposing is the practice of finding new therapeutic indications for existing drugs, and represents a great opportunity to treat rare diseases.","link":{"title":"Learn More","url":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/translational-research-departments\/drug-discovery\/current-research-topics\/introduction-to-drug-repurposing-for-rare-diseases\/","target":""}},{"icon_svg":"","label":"Development of nanocarriers for cancer-targeted drug delivery","excerpt":"Both chemotherapy and targeted therapeutic agents have displayed significant shortcomings in clinical settings, such as systemic toxicities and chemical resistance. Drug carriers are able to overcome those shortcomings and improve the therapeutic index of anti-cancer agents.","link":{"title":"Learn More","url":"https:\/\/www.saintjohnscancer.org\/translational-research-departments\/drug-discovery\/current-research-topics\/development-of-nanocarriers-for-cancer-targeted-drug-delivery\/","target":""}}],"layer_feature_more_link":"","layer_background_color":"","layer_id":""}],"int_alt_page_title":"","int_page_description":"","int_masthead_image":false,"int_page_icon":"","int_secondary_cta_override":false,"int_secondary_cta_is_hidden":false,"header_scripts":""},"yoast_head":"\nResearch in Drug Discovery & Nanomedicine | Saint John\u2019s Cancer Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"View the drug discovery and nanomedicine research topics we are involved in as part of the Department of Translational Neurosciences.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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