Our Research

Welcome to the Simon Lab. The overarching goal of our projects is the development of small molecules as mechanistic probes for a variety of cellular processes and as potential lead compounds for the development of therapeutic agents.  To this end we apply an interdisciplinary approach ranging from chemical synthesis and medicinal chemistry to genetics and cell biology.  The compounds we are studying have been identified from large collections of synthetic, drug-like compounds and from natural sources.  While screening compound libraries is a significant part of what we do the majority of our efforts go into mechanistic studies to understand the biology and pharmacology of lead compounds and efforts to improve their activity through chemical synthesis of analogs.