A Stony Brook University pharmacology professor received a $60,000 grant from the Feldstein Medical Foundation that will fund his new project which focuses on “new computer technology to speed up the creation yet reduce the development cost of targeted cancer therapies,” according to Stony Brook University.
Markus Seeliger, PhD, the recipient of this award, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.
His project that received this grant is titled, “New Tools To Hit Moving Targets in Cancer Therapy.” It focuses on developing unconventional approaches to cancer therapies that would help create more effective cancer drugs.
The Feldstein Medical Foundation was created to promote and advance previously neglected areas of medical research, and funds projects that focus on research in previously underfunded areas, new or innovative research and other various medical researches including basic science, translation and implementation studies, early clinical research and education.
“Dr. Seeliger’s laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanism of signaling proteins and how small molecule ligands and drugs can modulate their activity,” according to Stony Brook University.
And to expand their understanding and conduct experiment, Dr. Seeliger and his colleagues created a new method, using sophisticated, specialized computer hardware, to identify drug-binding sites on Src (sarcoma) kinase, which is a protein that causes cancer by promoting signals. He said they were able to stimulate the entire drug-binding process to the Src kinase.
According to Dr. Seeliger, specificity is crucial for a drug to develop properly even in the late stages. He said this lack of specificity was the reason to why they failed, especially in the late developmental process.
But, his team’s new research has found potential new binding sites that would act as specific inhibitors of Src kinase. He said, this combination of computer-based findings and experimental protocol, might aide the acceleration of the new creation of potent cancer drugs.
The Feldstein Medical Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2007, and is based in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area. 
