Dr. Eli Chapman and his lab members focus on drug discovery in their lab. They aim to identify ways to inhibit cellular quality control pathways. In essence, the body has various pathways designed to protect it from external “threats” such as toxic substances, heat, or physical stress. If these pathways become unregulated due to genetic or epigenetic factors, they can lead to aberrant cell growth, potentially resulting in cancer formation.
The primary focus of the Chapman Lab is lung cancer and ovarian cancer, both of which are particularly challenging to treat. The lab is interested in understanding how to target specific cellular quality control pathways to develop novel cancer therapies. The goal is to identify highly selective and potent molecules that can inhibit specific pathways without causing harm to non-cancerous tissues.
A major focus of the Chapman Lab is the discovery of isoform selective inhibitors of the HSP70 (70 kDa heat shock proteins) molecular chaperones, which help maintain the proteome (the collective of proteins in an organism). The human body has 13 HSP70s and studies in patients have shown that not all HSP70s are equivalent in cancers, with different cancers relying on specific HSP70 isoforms to survive. The Chapman Lab is interested in developing selective inhibitors for a given HSP70 isoform as a tool to understand their roles in a given cancer and as potential therapeutic leads. As an example, the Chapman Lab has revealed that selective inhibition of HSPA5, an organelle specific HSP70, can treat aggressive forms of ovarian cancer and lung cancer in model systems. They continue to optimize these compounds and to test them in more complex disease models.
The Pharmacology & Therapeutics Department allows Dr. Chapman to collaborate with researchers from various disciplines. As a chemist, being part of a multidisciplinary team is essential for Dr. Chapman’s research and development. The Chapman Lab hopes to eventually have to ability to produce a compound that can be used to treat patients with ovarian or lung cancer.