My research interests involve the isolation, design, and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of biological systems. My lab currently focuses on the development of inhibitors of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a human protein implicated in thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction. This project is in collaboration with Prof. Daniel Lawrence’s group at the University of Michigan Medical School, and together we have successfully identified and investigated multiple novel scaffolds that have proven to be potent and specific inhibitors of PAI-1. Some of these inhibitors are related to naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds, such as those found in green tea. Currently we are working to develop analogs of these compounds that show improved characteristics in vitro.
