Utilizing Open Source Research Data to Combat Neglected Diseases

This award would partially fund Phase I of a Medicinal Chemistry Cheminformatics Concentration Track for students enrolled in a school of pharmacy. In Phase I students will learn to use literature NLM and open data sources DNDi/WHO to curate and analyze early drug discovery chemical data focusing on neglected diseases. Student outcomes will include mastery in the use of cheminformatics software Optibrium/StarDrop for data management, data visualization and predictive calculations. Phase II will introduce students to the chemical synthesis of new drug leads based on their Phase I data. The synthetic steps and biological activity results of all compounds will be shared 94ly via an open source electronic laboratory notebook ELN. The impact of the proposal is three-fold: 1 increase health care personnel training in pharma-relevant informatics, 2 apply data management skills to curate analyze and use a cheminformatics database and 3 synthesize new chemical compounds aimed at treating neglected diseases. The diseases targeted are Leishmaniasis and American Trypanosomiasis.