Target Discovery Institute Research

Mass Spectrometry for Target Discovery

A key technology for the discovery and characterisation of critical molecules and pathways in disease is based on mass spectrometry. Defining molecular targets and also converting lead compounds affecting these targets into drug candidates are crucial steps in drug development, requiring early assessment of potency, selectivity, and off-target effects.

Dramatic technological improvements in mass spectrometry-based proteomic and chemoproteomic strategies have revealed approaches suitable for drug target discovery. Preclinical stages in the drug discovery process require a multitude of biochemical and genetic assays in order to characterize the effects of drug candidates on cellular systems and model organisms.

The Kessler Laboratory will lead the development of a state-of-the-art mass spectrometry platform in the TDI.

High Throughput Screening Facility

The High Throughput Screening Facility is a major component of theTarget Discovery Institute (or TDI) which is a new research centre initiated by the Nuffield Department of Medicine and the University of Oxford with a mandate to develop new target screening methodologies, investigate disease pathways as a means for identifying 'drug targets' and advance therapeutically relevant targets for drug development.

The aim of the high throughput screening facility at the TDI is to provide research scientists with access to a comprehensive, cost-effective facility capable of running high throughput cell based small compound and RNAi screens as well as biochemical small compound screens.