Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center

Structural Biology: Pursuing a New Era of Drug Discovery

MCW Cancer Center scientists are identifying new cancer therapies for targeting and treating cancer by investigating the science behind the chemical makeup and three-dimensional shape of proteins and their role in cancer.
Molecular Structure

Scientists Design Integrin Inhibitor Principle to Aid the Development of Drugs Targeting Cancer

Integrins are molecules that play an important role in cancer cell migration and survival. In a recent study, investigators developed a new design for improving the safety and efficacy of cancer treatments.

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Macromolecules

Structural Biology Shared Resource Enables the Conduct of Advanced Atomic-Level Studies

The Protein Purification unit produces homogeneous, high-quality proteins well suited for downstream biophysical studies and structure determination; while the Structure Determination unit employs X-ray crystallography, Cryo-EM, and advanced AI-assisted analytical tools for structure determination and imaging.

Learn about the Structural Biology Shared Resource
physician holding hands with patient

Clinical Trial Identifies New Therapy for Graft-Versus-Host Disease

MCW Cancer Center scientists identify new therapy to reduce the severity of gastrointestinal graft versus host disease and improve patient outcomes.

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Understanding Structural Biology

The development of new cancer therapies for targeting and treating cancer is only made possible by advancements in structural biology – the science behind the chemical makeup and three-dimensional shape of proteins and their role in cancer. To be effective, a cancer drug must bind to a specific site or pocket on the target protein. Drugs fail when they don’t bind to the pocket tightly enough or they bind to proteins other than the intended target, causing toxic side effects.
MCW Cancer Center scientists are remarkably good at using these sciences to identify new pathways for the treatment of cancer. Discoveries are leading to pivotal drug therapies that interfere with the biological function cancer cells rely on to grow and spread. This enables us to deliver more personalized, effective, and less toxic drug therapies that can be tailored or combined to treat a patient’s cancer.
Structural Biology

Visualizing Proteins with cryo-EM

Atomic scale structural information is critical for understanding protein function and how proteins interact within large complexes or with small molecules. The Structural Biology Shared Resource now includes a new cryo-electron microscope (cryoEM) to accelerate the design, evaluation, and optimization of new therapeutic molecules and biologics to improve cancer outcomes.