深夜福利国产精品

Biography

Dennis Liotta, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of 深夜福利国产精品 and Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Emory University, received his BS from Queens College (1970) and PhD in organic chemistry from the City University of New York (1974), followed by postdoctoral training at Ohio State University.

Over his distinguished career, Professor Liotta has profoundly improved the longevity and quality of life of millions worldwide. His research encompasses the discovery and development of novel antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory agents. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, holds more than 125 issued US patents, and has contributed to 18 FDA-approved therapies. His work has shaped modern medicinal chemistry and influenced generations of researchers.

Professor Liotta's most transformative contributions centre on HIV/AIDS therapeutics, though his impact extends to oncology and neurological disease. Multiple agents he co-invented are currently in clinical trials, including a candidate targeting hard-to-treat breast cancers and an oral therapy for menopausal vasomotor symptoms.

Beyond the laboratory, Professor Liotta is a serial entrepreneur who has launched numerous biotech ventures and pioneered novel academic models of drug development, translating scientific discovery into real-world therapeutic benefit.

I view chemistry as the most fundamental biomedical science because it is only through chemistry that we can understand fundamental biological processes on a molecular level.

Dennis Liotta

Q&A

Can you tell us more about your work?

In the area of drug development, commercial sector scientists have many advantages over their academic counterparts including earmarked funding, large multidisciplinary teams, business development specialists, intellectual property strategists and the willingness of management to invest in high risk, high return profits. Despite these competitive disadvantages, my academic laboratory has successfully discovered two drugs that are components of eighteen approved combination therapies for treating HIV infections. In addition, I co-founded Pharmasset, which developed the first curative drug for hepatitis C (HCV) infections.

In recent years, my lab has discovered (or co-discovered) several new compounds that are currently in human clinical trials including: (a) samuraciclib (Carrick Therapeutics), a Phase II CDK-7 inhibitor for treating CDK4/6-resistant tumors; (b) Q-122 (Que Oncology), a Phase II drug for treating hot flashes in post-menopausal women; (c) NP-10679 (NeurOp), a Phase II-ready drug for treating stroke and other brain hypoxic disorders; and (d) MTS-104 NeuroTrauma Sciences), a Phase I drug for treating traumatic brain injuries. In addition, the Liotta laboratory is currently developing several advanced preclinical drug candidates for treating a variety of cancers, autoimmune diseases and several neurological disorders.

Who or what first sparked your interest in chemistry, and how has that interest evolved over time? 

My older brother began his graduate studies in organic chemistry when I was nine years old. I was always so impressed with his ability to take a complex scientific subject and explain it in simple, understandable terms. So, my thoughts then (and now) were that I wanted to be able to master scientific concepts in sufficient depth that I could explain them to everyone.

What impact would you say that your work is having on your field and/or the wider world? 

Because of our work on the discovery and development of the HIV drugs, emtricitabine and lamivudine, the Emory Office of Technology Transfer estimates that over 90% of HIV patients on therapy take or have taken one of these drugs. In a similar vein the company I co-founded, Pharmasset, developed the first curative agent for hepatitis C (HCV) infections.

What future directions or opportunities do you see for your work? 

We are currently developing several drug candidates for treating the liquid and solid tumours that overexpress the cell surface receptor, CXCR4. These compounds have excellent preclinical profiles that should enable them to provide new treatment approaches for tumours that are currently difficult to treat.

What do you wish more people understood about your field or the chemical sciences in general? 

I view chemistry as the most fundamental biomedical science because it is only through chemistry that we can understand fundamental biological processes on a molecular level.