Journal
BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology
Exploring all aspects of research related to chemically defined therapeutic and toxic agents, BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology welcomes papers on a broad range of topics, including...
BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology is calling for submissions for the Collection on Small molecule therapy.
Small molecule therapy encompasses a diverse range of pharmacological agents designed to modulate biological processes at the molecular level. These compounds have revolutionized the treatment landscape for various diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative conditions. The ongoing exploration of small molecules, their mechanisms of action, and their interactions with cellular pathways has opened new avenues for therapeutic development. This Collection aims to highlight recent advancements and innovative strategies in small molecule therapy, focusing on the design, synthesis, and application of these agents to treat various diseases.
The development of highly specific small molecule therapeutic compounds has improved treatment efficacy while minimizing toxicity, and recent breakthroughs in drug delivery systems and formulation techniques have enabled targeted therapies that maximize therapeutic benefit while reducing side effects. Additionally, advances in computational methods, including machine learning and AI-guided drug design, when accompanied by real-world validation of molecular targets, are a promising avenue of research in this field.
To showcase advances in the development of small molecule therapies, topics for this collection include but are not limited to:
Target specificity in small molecule design
Assessment of pre-clinical and clinical toxicity and long-term effects
Drug-drug interactions in small molecule therapy
Innovations in drug delivery and formulation
Computational and AI-guided small molecule drug design
Validation of in silico studies with in vitro and in vivo data
All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.
Submit your manuscript to this collection through the participating journal.
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Praveen Nekkar Rao PhD, University of Waterloo, Canada
Dr Praveen Nekkar Rao is an Associate Professor at the School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo. He is a Medicinal Chemist by training and is cross- appointed to Departments of Chemistry and Biology, University of Waterloo. His research group works on developing novel small molecules as bioactive agents to target various diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular conditions including atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. The lab research involves synthetic organic chemistry, computational chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology. Dr Nekkar Rao has published over 110 research articles related to drug design and discovery. He serves as a grant reviewer to National and International funding organizations, is on the Editorial boards of International journals and is a peer reviewer for several Medicinal and Organic Chemistry journals. His research group has secured research funds through multiple national agencies in Canada. Dr Nekkar Rao is also a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. Small molecules discovered or co-discovered by Dr Nekkar Rao have been commercialized for lab use. -
Weijun Xu PhD, Experimental Drug Development Centre, Singapore
Dr Weijun Xu received a BSc (1st Class Honors) in Biochemistry and PhD in computational chemistry, University of Queensland. He did his postdoc studies in University of Queensland and UC, San Diego. Dr Xu was a lecturer in the school of Chemical and Life Sciences, Singapore Polytechnic from 2006-2013. He has 20 years of experience in multi-disciplinary research encompassing computer-aided and artificial-intelligence powered drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, molecular pharmacology, and immunology. The targets of his research interest include human and viral proteases, kinases, HDACs and GPCRs; as well as undruggable genome involving protein-protein interactions. He holds an adjunct senior fellow position from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, UQ. Weijun serves the drug discovery community by providing consultancy to start-ups and delivering guest lectures at local universities. He also serves Editorial Advisory Board role for Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, npj Drug Discovery, and In Silico Pharmacology. Dr Xu owns three patents and has published >40 papers in journals including Nature Immunology, Nature Communications, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Chemical Reviews, JACS, and Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.