ROSkillers

Parasitic diseases remain a major public health issue worldwide, especially in subtropical areas. While medication exists for some of these diseases, drug resistances develop very fast, and some diseases have a very limited drug arsenal. The aim of this project is to identify protein targets of the antimalarial lead plasmodione in living cells/parasites, which could lead to the development of a more effective drug analogue against malaria parasites. In parallel, a library of newly synthetized diverse 3-benzylmenadiones will be evaluated for antiparasitic activity/toxicity profile in order to select the most potent lead agents against parasites causing two neglected parasitic diseases (Chagas’ disease & schistosomiasis) and to take them to preclinical studies in the future. The project is supported by Eucor – The European Campus in the “Research and Innovation” category of the Seed Money scheme.