Welcome to the Bushweller Lab
We are a chemical biology and a structural biology lab. We are fundamentally interested in understanding the role of transcription factor drivers in cancer, particularly in leukemia but in other cancers as well. Our structural biology efforts focus on structure/function studies to understand how transcription factor drivers mediate disease. These studies combine structure determination (NMR, X-ray) and detailed biochemical characterization with functional studies that include effects on gene expression, transcription factor occupancy, epigenetic changes, and effects in relevant mouse models.
The structure/function studies lead to validation of specific binding interactions of these transcription factor drivers as targets for drug development. Our chemical biology efforts focus on the development of small molecule inhibitors of well-validated protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions we have identified. These studies combine medicinal/synthetic chemistry, biochemical assays, and structural studies with functional studies that include effects on gene expression, transcription factor occupancy, epigenetic changes, and effects in relevant mouse models.