The research of the Gao group covers medicinal chemistry and molecular targeting, synthetic chemistry and organo catalysis, and computer-aided drug design, aimed at the discovery of functional drug delivery carriers and understanding mechanisms of molecular targeting. Specific areas include a) strategies for development of small molecular anti-cancer drugs for targeted therapy, b) design and development of actively transportable small molecule drugs or protein-drug conjugates, c) discovery and development of novel drug-delivery carriers and pharmaceutics based on supramolecular chemistry, d) computer aided molecular design and modeling for innovative drug discovery and mechanistic study of drug transporters.

The research of the Bao group involves 1) development of new analytical technologies, such as (a) wide bore electrophoresis (WBE), which increases sample loading significantly compared to capillary electrophoresis (CE) for better detection and easy interface with MS and other technologies;(b) WBE containing microchip systems; and (c) multi-dimensional separation systems; 2)development of innovative bio/analytical methods such as affinity CE and liquid phase microextraction (LPME) for proteomics and pharmaceutical analysis; 3) development of new separation media including various silica gel, polymeric resin, and even agarose gel based resins and their applications; and 4)new development of miniaturized and high throughput sample preparation techniques, such as fritless SPE, membraneSPE, supported liquid extraction (SLE) and fast protein precipitation, etc. 

The research of the Chen group concerns isolation, identification, bioactivity, and mechanism of constituents from natural resources.  In particular, the group focuses on functional mechanism and structure-activity relationships of macromolecules (polysaccharides and proteins) as well as small biomolecules. Methods are being developed in the group to quantify bioactivity of polysaccharides and small biomolecules from Traditional Chinese Medicine and natural resources.  Additionally, the group investigates functional food and new medicine from natural sources.

Her research would be helpful to the investigation and utilization of natural resources. She has been the Primary Investigator (PI) in 15 projects such as the funds from National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), National High Technology Research and Development Program ("863"Program) of China, Project of National Key Technology Research and Development Program for The 12th Five-year Plan, National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program). More than 100 research papers of Dr. Haixia Chen have been published, and 73 of the papers are published on SCI/SCIE journals with Haixia Chen being the first author or correspondence author. She has participated in 8 published books. 35 Chinese patents have been applied and 17 of them were authorized. Her papers on the study of bioactive polysaccharides have been cited by many researchers around the world and the citation frequency reached 2200 times in SCI database with H index of  25. One of her paper has been cited more than 225 times at the end of April 2019. She has been the editorial board member of some journals such as EC Pharmacology and Toxicology, Journal of Food Safety & Quality, Pharmarceutical Journal of Chinese People’s Liberationl Armay. She has also been the reviewer of NSFC, MOST and MOE and many international journals and Chinese journals such as Frontiers in Pharmacology, Food Chemistry, Carbohydrate Polymers, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Food research international, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry etc.

The research area of the Du group involves investigation of hypervalent iodine (III) – mediated transformations, including oxidative coupling, rearrangement, cascade reactions, and asymmetric reactions.  Additionally, the group develops metal-free methodology for the constructionof heterocyclic compounds and pharmaceutical agents.

The research of the Huang group encompasses the following main areas:  

1) Molecular design (AIDD & Chiral Catalyst/ligand Design)

3) New Chemical Space Exploration

Li’s research addresses development and application of electrophoresis techniques,heterogeneous catalysis and applications, chiral separation and applications, sample preparation and applications, and high throughput drug screening based on hollow fiber member system development.

The research in the group of Srinivasan encompasses two main areas, 1) Developing new reaction methodologies: The research topics under this area include bioorthogonal reactions, late-stage modification of advanced chemical entities, C-H activation, and high-throughput amenable synthesis – aiming at advancing the way organic molecules are made for drug discovery and chemical biology applications. 2) Inhibitor discovery based on fragment-based approaches: Design and synthesis of ‘unconventional’ fragments with rich structural diversity. These fragments will be used as a starting point towards novel inhibitors for unexplored biological targets such as the AurB-INCENP interaction.

The research in the group of Su encompasses three main areas, including a) Isolation and identification of bioactive natural compounds from medicinal plants, b) Quality control of traditional chinese medicines, 3) Research & development of new medicines of natural origin

The research in the group of Tan involves investigation into drug delivery systems.  This encompasses a) oral drug delivery systems, b) chronopharmaceutical drug delivery systems (ChrDDS), c) topical transdermal drug deliver and associated enhancements, and d) microencapsulation techniques.

The research in the group of Wan involves modern separation and analysis technology applied in pharmaceutical and biochemistry.  Specific areas include: 1) Synthesis and application of novel HPLC parking material, 2) Development of HPLC analysis methodology, 3) Chiral separation in HPLC and CE, 4) Magnetic separation technology and associated applications for purification of biological sample, and 5) Investigation of the motion character of magnetic beads under an external magnetic field.

The research in the group of Wang encompasses four main areas, including 1) Functional polymeric materials (biodegradable polymeric materials, smart polymeric materials such as thermo-sensitive and pH sensitive polymers, dendrimers etc.), 2) Nanotechnology for solubility improvement of water-insoluble drugs, 3) Targeted and controlled drug release systems, and 4) Self-assembled nanostructures for controlled drug release.

The research in the group of Wang involves the design, synthesis, and biological activity evaluation of new compounds, with focus on industrialization of generic drugs, intermediates, and fine chemicals.  Specific areas include 1) Design and synthesis of the Rho kinase inhibitor, 2) Design and synthesis of the PDE4 inhibitor, and 3) Design and synthesis of antihistamine drugs

Wei’s research addresses mechanisms of drug activity with associated drug design.  Computational approaches (e.g., molecular docking, pharmacophore modeling, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), molecular dynamics) are used to identify and characterize putative ligand binding sites, elucidate binding mechanisms, and guide rational design of potentially new drugs.

The research in the Woycechowsky group focuses on the supramolecular chemistry of proteins. In particular, we are interested in proteins that assemble into symmetrical, closed-shell, polyhedral capsid structures. Protein capsids can act as molecular containers and delivery vehicles for a variety of molecular cargoes, and therefore are useful for bionanotechnological applications, such as drug delivery, catalysis, and materials synthesis. Protein engineering strategies are used to explore and exploit the supramolecular chemistry of protein capsids. This approach is inherently interdisciplinary, utilizing methods from biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, organic chemistry, and cell biology. Research projects in our lab fall into three main areas, including 1) capsid self-assembly, 2) molecular encapsulation, and 3) drug delivery.

The research in the group of Zhang is encompassed in the areas of chiral separation and proteomics analysis.

研究方向为疾病药物靶点发现、疾病诊断、安全评价等，承担和参与国家自然科学基金面上项目以及科技部、中医药管理局等重大研发计划，近5年作为主通讯作者在Hepatology、Nature Communications、JECCR等杂志上发表多篇SCI论文。担任美国毒理学会官方杂志《Toxicological Sciences》副主编、美国生物化学和分子生物学会杂志《Journal of Lipid Research》编委、国内杂志《Medicine Advances》编委。

The research in the group of Zhao is encompassed in 4 main areas, including 1) Medicinal Chemistry:  Design and synthesis of drug molecules, and development of synthetic route to drug intermediates, 2) Biological Organic Chemistry:  Investigation of anti-cocaine, monoclonal antibodies, and anti-viruses, 3) Organic Synthetic Methodology: Hypervalent iodine chemistry and heterocyclic chemistry, and 4) Total Synthesis of Complex Molecules: design and synthesis of natural products.

The research in the group of Zhao encompasses four main areas, including (1) Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems; (2) Ferroptosis-targeting nanomedicines; (3) Photo-triggered microtubule inhibitors; (4) Pharmaceutical micelles, biomaterials and nanomaterials.

Zhao’s research addresses development of highly bioavailable drugs by targeting active drug transporters, with focus on issues of blood brain barrier-associated drug transport proteins and CADD-based molecular design of target selective drugs that can be substrates for such transporters and actively delivered into the central nervous system.  

The research in the group of Zhou encompasses three main areas, including, 1) Investigation of molecular pathogenesis of diseases and cell signaling pathways, and pharmacological mechanism of drug action, 2) Development of new small molecule based targeting anticancer drugs, e.g., TRAF6 as a new target of anti-tumor therapy, 3) Development of cells and C. elegans models, for high-throughput screenings, e.g., anti-aging drugs.