Chemistry and Materials Science Seminar: Improved Efficacy of Chemotherapy with Peptide-Drug Conjugates (PDCs)

Chemistry and Materials Science Seminar
Improved Efficacy of Chemotherapy with Peptide-Drug Conjugates (PDCs)

Dr. Kamaljit Kaur
Associate Professor
Chapman University School of Pharmacy

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This seminar may be attended in person in 1174 Gosnell Hall or online via Zoom.

Dr. Kaur will discuss her research involving the development of peptide-drug conjugates, designed to specifically target and deliver chemotherapeutic drugs specifically to Triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Abstract:
While chemotherapeutics are potent, these agents suffer from a lack of specificity and are equally toxic to cancer and nonmalignant cells and tissues. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer where chemotherapy is the main treatment. Targeted therapies for TNBC treatment are not available at this point, largely due to the absence of well-established clinical molecular targets. In recent years several cell surface receptors on TNBC cells have been identified that are being targeted using engineered antibodies or tumor homing/targeting peptides for site-specific delivery of chemotherapeutics. We engineered cancer cell targeting peptides, such as linear 18-4 and cyclic cy18-4, that specifically bind cell surface receptor keratin 1 (K1) on TNBC cells. We used different chemistries to link the targeting peptide to cytotoxic doxorubicin (payload) to form peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs). In this talk, conjugate syntheses with different linkers, and recent in vitro and in vivo findings with the conjugates will be presented. The implications of the peptide, linker, and the cytotoxic payload for improved efficacy in TNBC treatment will be discussed.

Speaker Bio:
Kamaljit Kaur is an Associate Professor of Targeted Drug Delivery and Biomedical Diagnostics at the Chapman University School of Pharmacy. She started her academic career in Canada as an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada). She moved to Chapman University (Irvine, California) in 2014 to accept a part-time position as a Distinguished Chancellor Fellow and in 2015 as a full-time founding member of the School of Pharmacy faculty. Her education is from India and the US with her B.Sc. (Chemistry Honors) from University of Delhi, M.Sc. (Organic Chemistry) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and Ph.D. (Bioorganic Chemistry) from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Her lab combines organic and analytical chemistry methods with biology to engineer peptides for biomedical applications.

Intended Audience:
Undergraduates, graduates, experts. Those with interest in the topic.

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