Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

"TNA's resilience to enzymatic and chemical degradation positions it as the ideal candidate for developing new treatments such as therapeutic aptamers, a promising drug class that binds to target molecules with high specificity. Engineering enzymes that facilitate the discovery of new approaches could address the limitations of antibodies, such as improved tissue penetration, and potentially have an even greater positive impact on human health." (John Chaput)

"This achievement represents a major milestone in the evolution of synthetic biology and opens up exciting possibilities for new therapeutic applications by significantly narrowing the performance gap between natural and artificial enzyme systems. Unlike DNA, TNA’s biostability allows it to be used in a much broader range of treatments, and the new 10-92 TNA polymerase will enable us to reach that goal" (John Chaput)

"Our findings present a groundbreaking discovery that possibly opens a new door in neuroscience by challenging the more-than-60-year-old view that dopamine is the exclusive neurotransmitter in motor function control." (Amal Alachkar)

"Our research offers valuable insights into how we can proactively address the challenge of chemotherapy-related GI symptoms." (Alexandre Chan)

"Library synthesis and screening are the first steps in the discovery of new medicines." (Brian Paegel)

"My postdoctoral training at UCI will enhance my career and will allow me to learn cutting edge techniques in cancer genomics and proteomics." (Anai Campos Contreras)