Jon Clardy


Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Harvard Medical School
Building C, 6th Floor, C-643
240 Longwood Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Tel: (617) 432-2845
Fax: (617) 432-6424
Email: jon_clardy@hms.harvard.edu
Web Page:The Clardy Lab Page
12 postdoctoral fellows, 2 graduate students

 

The laboratory focuses on biologically active small molecules, especially those found in nature, and their interactions with cellular targets in order to understand how small molecules control biological processes.  Projects can be roughly divided into three groups: 1) biologically active small molecules from natural sources discovered through functional, often drug discovery, assays, 2) small molecules that function as carriers of biological information, especially those that control developmental processes, and 3) discovery of small molecules using bioinformatics approaches

 

1.  We use a variety of biological assays, including high throughput screening, to discover biologically active small molecules, especially potential drug candidates.  Several current projects involve finding new small molecules from biodiverse regions – Costa Rica and Madagascar – using high-throughput screening and secondary assays against a variety of biological targets.  The assays in these screens increasingly reflect the growing interest in infectious diseases.

 

2.  The laboratory also studies biologically active small molecules in their natural, as opposed to therapeutic, context, and the small molecules that serve as biological information carriers are of special interest.  Some current projects involve signaling systems in C. elegans, the chemical ecology of mutualist and antagonistic interactions between insects and bacteria, and the signals that control the development of choanoflagellates.

 

3. The laboratory is exploiting ways to capture the biologically active small molecules made by so-called cryptic bacterial pathways with bioinformatics approaches.  A variety of individual projects, especially those involving the antibiotics from actinomycetes and other bacteria are being pursued.

 

References:

 

BBS webpage updated 12/02/2009