Chris Trembath
PhD Project
Understanding the Behaviour of Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) in Biorelevant Media
PhD Summary
Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs) are exciting new modality heterobifunctional protein degraders with great potential to treat “undruggable” targets with high selectively and improved efficacy. These are complex molecules that inhabit the beyond Lipinski’s “rule of 5” space with very low bioavailability due to poor solubility and permeability.
Understanding mechanistic behaviour of the PROTACs in biorelevant media is a vital step towards predicting their behaviour during transit in the gastrointestinal tract fluids. Currently, theoretical standard solubility models are used to predict solubility, but these models depend on measured properties such as pH solubility values which are challenging to measure for PROTACs given their complex behaviour in solution that is not well understood.
The aim of this project is to interrogate the behaviour of PROTACs in biorelevant media using a combination of analytical techniques. Understanding of this solution behaviour will enable accurate prediction of PROTACs behaviour in vivo and potentially guide compound design.
Supervisors
Dr. Józef R. LewandowskiLink opens in a new window (University of Warwick)
Academic History
| Institution | Award | Discipline | Date Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Surrey | BSc. (Hons) | Chemistry | 2020 |
| University of Warwick | MSc. (Hons) | Analytical Science | 2021 |
| University of Warwick | PhD. | Analytical Science | Expected. 2027 |