UMDNJ/Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence

Univ Of Med/Dent Nj-R W Johnson Med Sch, Piscataway NJ

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Sulfur mustard, a potent chemical warfare vesicant, is considered to be a high priority chemical threat.[unreadable] Although it has been studied for more than 80 years, the mechanisms mediating its actions as a vesicant[unreadable] remain unknown; moreover, to date, there are no effective medical countermeasures for exposure to warfare[unreadable] vesicants. The proposed UMDNJ/Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence will[unreadable] specifically focus on the development of drugs to treat sulfur mustard poisoning. In collaborative studies with[unreadable] a local pharmaceutical company and Battelle Memorial Institute, we have identified two candidate classes of[unreadable] Pharmaceuticals that can prevent or reverse sulfur mustard toxicity. At least one member of each class of[unreadable] drugs has previously been approved by the FDA for other indications. In this academic/industrial[unreadable] partnership, plans are to optimize the lead compounds from the groups we have identified, to determine the[unreadable] active pharmacophores, and ultimately to synthesize structural isomers. We will also evaluate the efficacy of[unreadable] these potential countermeasures in model systems of sulfur mustard toxicity. In addition, Research and[unreadable] Development Projects are proposed that are designed to identify specific mechanisms of action of sulfur[unreadable] mustard and potential new targets for therapeutic intervention in three major vesicant targets: the eye, the[unreadable] skin and the lung. Investigators on these projects will work closely with a Pharmacology and Drug[unreadable] Development Core and a Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics Core with considerable expertise in drug[unreadable] development, providing insights to facilitate the development of sulfur mustard countermeasures. The[unreadable] research laboratories of the PI, co-Pi, Pi's of the Research and Development Projects, the Pharmaceutics[unreadable] group and Pharmacology and Drug Development Core are located in close proximity to one another on the[unreadable] Busch campus of Rutgers University. They are all members of the Environmental and Occupational Health[unreadable] Sciences Institute (EOHSI), a facility jointly sponsored by UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School[unreadable] and the School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University. EOHSI has been designated as an NIEHS Center of[unreadable] Excellence. The Medicinal Chemistry group is located at Lehigh University, approximately 25 miles from[unreadable] Rutgers University. The P.I. of this Center (J. Laskin) and the P.I. of the Medicinal Chemistry Core (N.[unreadable] Heindel) have been jointly funded by NIEHS on drug development grants for over 15 years. A Training and[unreadable] Education Program is proposed that will be directed at health care providers at Rutgers University School of[unreadable] Pharmacy, UMDNJ-School of Public Health, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Health[unreadable] Sciences Program at Lehigh University.[unreadable]