Society is beset by many untreatable or incurable diseases. Current drug discovery methods are not measuring up to the social demands for new and more effective treatments. The Broad Institute is committed to developing small-molecule probes to find new treatments for these incurable diseases -- and dedicated to making this information available to the public. The goal of Esther's research project this summer was to create skeletally diverse macrocycles -- molecules with a certain structure -- for a future small-molecule library design.
The preparation of small molecules libraries using diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) is one approach for the discovery of biological probes and pharmaceutical agents that could illuminate pathways to potential new drug therapies.
PROJECT: Accessing Skeletal Diversity Using Catalytic Control: Synthesis of a Macrocyclic Triazole Library
I have learned so much from this summer research experience. Apart from different chemical techniques and mechanisms, I have been able to become a better scientist, overall. My mentor taught me how to balance science and other aspects of my life, which I find very important as I want to pursue graduate school.