Structure, function and pharmacology of oncogenic protein kinases
Iván Plaza Menacho
CNIO, Madrid
Our lab focused on the structure, function and pharmacology of protein kinases that are causative and current therapeutic targets in cancer, in particular the RET and c-Src kinases, and their oncogenic variants. Most recently, one of our main interests in the lab is to understand the structural, molecular and dynamic determinants that control the function and catalytic activity of RET fusion products that are drivers and therapeutic targets in lung cancer. In particular, those determinants driven by phosphorylation and of allosteric nature. The ultimate goal of our research is to exploit the generated high-resolution structural, molecular and dynamic information (i.e. molecular switches) as the facto vulnerabilities that can be therapeutically exploited by an integrated drug-discovery approach. This information is crucial for the design, evaluation and development of third generation RET kinase (allosteric) inhibitors that can que translated into the clinic for targeted and personalized therapy.