Shoichet recognized for informatics tools for drug discovery
, a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, won the . Shoichet works on the development of docking methods and screening libraries and applies these tools in particular to G-protein–coupled receptors.
The Shoichet lab seeks to improve on traditional docking methods with new tricks of the trade. His lab has generated several distinct binding pockets that mimic typical protein cavities with which a promising small molecule could dock. This allows even failed predictions to help in the search for targets that match each small molecule tested.
In addition, the Shoichet lab works with libraries containing millions of small molecules, looking to enhance these libraries with the addition of bio-relevant molecules. This elevates molecular docking projects to the level of traditional high-throughput screening methods.
A key test of these methods has been on GPCRs. The Shoichet lab, in collaboration with of the University of North Carolina, has characterized several orphan GPCRs, including GPR68. This work utilized another aspect of Shoichet’s toolbox, the chemical probe, which identified GRP68’s role in fear-based learning.
In his letter nominating Shoichet, UCSF colleague wrote, “Brian is distinct in that he has extended the reach of computational modeling to study protein-ligand interactions with enormous impact on drug discovery and enzymology.”
As the DeLano Award celebrates the development and dissemination of computational tools, of the University of Dundee noted in his letter of support for Shoichet’s nomination that Shoichet indeed fits the bill. “In the spirit of the ASBMB DeLano Award, Professor Shoichet has made multiple informatics platforms of his research readily accessible to the scientific community to accelerate their own research,” he wrote.
Shoichet earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from UCSF. After postdoctoral fellowships at UCSF and the University of Oregon, Shoichet held a faculty position at Northwestern University before being recruited back to UCSF.
Shoichet won the PhRMA Foundation Career Award and the National Science Foundation Career Award. He also has served on the scientific advisory board for the National Institutes of Health RoadMap Chemical Libraries and Screening Initiative and the NIH Centers for Biomedical Computing.
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition monthly and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in People
People highlights or most popular articles
Honors for Bhatt, Lim and Nuñez
Ami Bhatt receives the American Society of Hematology's William Dameshek Prize. The Pew Charitable Trusts selects Ci Ji Lim and James Nuñez as 2024 Pew scholars.
In memoriam: Robert Warren Newburgh
He was a distinguished developmental and cell biologist and a member of the ASBMB since 1957.
'Don’t be afraid to take a different path'
In 2016, MOSAIC scholar Rebecca Ann Faulkner paused her career for four years to focus on her family, a decision she believes made her a more effective and empathetic scientist.
Honors for Baserga, Matunis and Tate
Awards, promotions, milestones and more. Find out what's going on in the lives of ASBMB members.
In memoriam: William Catterall
Known as the “father of ion channels,” he was a neuroscientist and pharmacologist at the University of Washington and an ASBMB member for more than 45 years.
Announcing the winners of the 鶹ýɫƬ Motifs bioart competition
The 12 winning works of art to be featured in the 2025 ASBMB calendar were selected from 37 entries received from scientists in both academia and industry at all career stages with submissions coming from as far away as Pakistan and Brazil.