Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology A – DMPA
The Drug Discovery and Molecular Pharmacology A (DMPA) study section reviews applications that are concerned with the identification of novel antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antifungal agents for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases using biochemical, pharmacological, structural, cell-based, and animal model approaches.
Review Dates
Topics
- Discovery of novel antimicrobial agents including small molecule inhibitors, natural products, antimicrobial peptides, antibodies, adjunct therapeutics, drug combination regimens, repurposed drugs, CRISPR-based antimicrobial technologies, phage therapy, and probiotic/microbiota-based approaches
- Molecular characterization of antimicrobial agents, including mechanism of action, structural characterization, and confirmation of target engagement
- Optimization of antimicrobial agents, including structure-guided drug design, medicinal chemistry, hit-to-lead optimization, adjunct therapeutics, and combination regimens
- Discovery of novel agents for host-directed therapies, including immunotherapies, to counter infections
- Development of novel assays and models to test drug efficacy, including cellular, organoid, and animal model systems
Shared Interests and Overlaps
There are shared interests in drug development with Advancing Therapeutics [MCST (81)]. Applications that emphasize late-stage drug development efforts may be reviewed in MCST (81). Applications that emphasize early-stage drug development, such as discovery of novel agents and characterization of mechanism of action may be reviewed in DMPA.
There are shared interests in addressing the mechanism of action of anti-infective drugs with Anti-Infective Resistance and Targets (AIRT). Applications that emphasize the biology underlying drug resistance or that aim to establish novel drug targets may be reviewed in AIRT. Applications that emphasize discovery and optimization of new drugs may be reviewed in DMPA.
There are shared interests in drug design with Chemical Biology & Probes (CBP). Applications that emphasize drug synthesis with limited biological assessments may be reviewed in CBP. Applications that emphasize drug function and antimicrobial potential may be reviewed in DMPA.
There are shared interests in pathogen physiology with Prokaryotic Cell and Molecular Biology (PCMB), Bacterial-Host Interactions (BHI), Bacterial Virulence (BV), and Pathogenic Eukaryotes (PTHE). Applications that emphasize understanding fundamental processes or pathogenesis mechanisms, or that use known drugs as probes, may be reviewed in PCMB, BHI, BV, or PTHE. Applications that emphasize developing new antimicrobial drugs may be reviewed in DMPA.
