CURRENT DIRECTIONS
Two of our recent ventures that led to syntheses of dictyostatin and largazole have focussed our attentions on a number of questions that relate small molecules to biology and an expanding effort in the group will have the following goals:
1. to develop small molecules that can access the diverse biology that nature modulates with small peptides.
2. the identification of the principles used by natural products to affect 'undruggable' targets such as protein-protein interactions and, with the information gleaned from this, develop small molecules to tackle these challenges.
3. the identification of small molecules that affect the regulation of genes that produce secondary metabolites.
As well as these vistas, we have ongoing programs directed toward the synthesis of spirastrellolide, sorangicin, and ladder polyethers such as yessotoxin.