Antibody-drug conjugates: plant-derived toxins, improved potency

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are complex molecules that consist of monoclonal antibodies and cytotoxic drugs. It combines the unique targeting capabilities of antibodies and the efficient cancer-killing abilities of toxins. The ADC research in our lab is facilitated by the cytotoxins derived from natural products. The main feature of these compounds is the broad-spectrum cancer-killing activity.

Drug lead discovery using focused compound libraries Empowered by the High-throughput Screening Platform at SIAIS, it is now possible to screen for a variety of biologically active molecules from our focused compound libraries. One of the current projects is to identify small molecules regulating cell differentiation and programming.

Gene-free gene therapy: a safer solution for genetic diseases After decades of research, gene therapy is transforming from a pure concept to a practical therapeutic strategy for genetic diseases. Despite of the myriad nuclease tools such as ZFN, TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9, delivery remains a major challenge. Our lab is focused on protein-based, gene-free delivery method. Compared with other methods, protein delivery can dramatically reduce off-target effect and is widely applicable for different cell types.