27 May 2024
Dr. Faez Khan, from the Department of Biological Sciences, has recently co-edited a comprehensive volume on "Computational Drug Discovery of Medicinal Compounds for Cancer Management", published by Frontiers in Chemistry. This collaborative effort involves esteemed colleagues from Yeungnam University in the Republic of Korea and Jazan University in Saudi Arabia. The research topic has garnered significant attention, with 16 manuscripts accepted for publication, representing the work of 130 contributing authors. The topic has been distilled into a personalized eBook, which has achieved an impressive 53.1K views in the brief period following its release.
Notable studies include the identification of natural compounds inhibiting the BRAF gene, the design of new inhibitors for Tyrosine Threonine Kinase (TTK), and the development of nanoassemblies to improve the solubility and therapeutic efficacy of anti-tumor compounds.
“Cancer is still a major public health concern, and it is regarded as one of the leading causes of mortality globally. Despite remarkable progress in biotechnological research, the development of effective, innovative small molecule drugs remains an arduous, protracted, and costly endeavor. ”
Dr. Faez Khan shared that it requires a concerted, multidisciplinary approach, involving experts in fields such as computational biology, pharmacokinetics, and clinical research. There is an urgent need for novel drug development methodologies that can streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance overall efficiency. In this context, in silico screening coupled with molecular simulations has risen to prominence as a pivotal component of contemporary drug development strategies.
According to the research, elucidating the intricacies of ligand-protein interactions is fundamental to the realms of drug design and discovery. Computational methodologies—including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, pharmacophore modeling, and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analyses—serve as indispensable tools. These approaches provide valuable insights into the structure-function dynamics of small molecules and medicinal compounds in their interactions with target proteins. They are extensively utilized in the identification and refinement of lead compounds. The ultimate objective of drug discovery initiatives is to forecast the metabolic trajectory of a drug candidate. This enables the establishment of a correlation between pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics and facilitates the assessment of potential toxicity. The recent advancements in in silico techniques have endowed researchers with the capacity to amass more reliable and robust datasets.
The Research Topic spearheaded by Dr. Khan and his team zeroes in on the utilization and application of computational methods to bolster the design of medicinal compounds aimed at various proteins associated with cancer management. This focus is of paramount importance to the pharmaceutical industry, which is continually in search of innovative solutions to combat this devastating disease.
More information could be found below:
Link for E-Book: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/40449/computational-drug-discovery-of-medicinal-compounds-for-cancer-management/magazine
Link for editorial article: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fchem.2023.1343183/full
About Dr. Faez Iqbal Khan
Dr. Faez Iqbal Khan is currently serving as an Assistant Professor within the Department of Biological Sciences at Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Computational Chemistry (Bioinformatics) from Durban University of Technology, South Africa. Dr. Khan has obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biomedical Science and Bioinformatics, respectively. Throughout his career, Dr. Khan has conducted research and teaching across esteemed institutions such as Rhodes University (South Africa), South China University of Technology, and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. His main areas of research focus on Protein engineering, Protein folding, drug design, and Protein dynamics. Dr. Khan established wide-ranging collaborations with BRICS countries and mentored several postgraduate students. He has authored over 79 publications in international peer-reviewed journals, which are well cited.
Content material: Dr. Faez Iqbal Khan
Translation and Reviewer: Dr. Zhen Wei
Editor: Luyao Wang
27 May 2024