Our Science – Tarasova Website

Nadya I. Tarasova, Ph.D.

Molecular Targets Development Program Staff Scientist National Cancer Institute at Frederick Building 538, Room 165 P.O. Box B Frederick, MD 21702-1201 Phone:   301-846-5225 Fax:   301-846-6231 E-Mail:   tarasova@ncifcrf.gov

Biography

Dr. Tarasova was trained as a bioorganic chemist. She obtained her Ph.D. in chemistry at Moscow State University in 1981. After post-doctoral training in the lab of Prof. Bent Foltmann at Copenhagen University, she established a group working on the chemistry of proteolytic enzymes in the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University. Dr. Tarasova joined the ABL-Basic Research Program as Visiting Scientist in 1991 and became a Staff Scientist in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory in 1999.

Research

The major research goal is the development of new methods in anti-cancer drug discovery. There is a paradoxical decline in the number of new medicines on the market in spite of increasing investment into research and development by pharmaceutical industry (http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/76xx/doc7615/10-02-DrugR-D.pdf) . One of the reasons for this phenomenon is the focus of pharmaceutical companies on small molecules for the development of therapeutic agents. Although they can be potent inhibitors of target proteins, small molecules are known for their low selectivity. Larger and more complex molecules, such as peptides, provide more specific target recognition and are better suited for inhibition pf protein-protein interactions. However, peptides are susceptible to degradation and require additional design of cellular delivery mechanisms. We exploit approaches that make small molecules more selective by targeting them to tumor cells. We also make peptides more druggable by developing metabolically stable cell-permeable peptidomimetics with rigid and predictable structures amendable to rational drug design.

This page was last updated on 7/14/2008.