University Home | Hospital | Pulse Employment | Contact Us | Search | News 
Thomas Jefferson University Search Jefferson
Jefferson Medical College Jefferson College of Graduate Studies Jefferson College of Health Professions
Menu

Thomas Jefferson University - Charles P. Scott, Ph.D.
Charles P. Scott, Ph.D.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thomas Jefferson University
Jefferson Medical College
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Assistant Professor Appointed: 2001

Kimmel Cancer Center
Structural Biology & Bioinformatics Program
Member Appointed: 2001

Radiation Research and Translational Biology
Member Appointed: 2006
Mailing Address
833 Bluemle Life Science Building
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107
United States
Contact Information
Phone: 215-503-4569
Fax: 215-923-2117
cscott@mail.jci.tju.edu
Personal Web Site
Qualifications
Ph.D., Biological Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 1997
Expertise and Research Interests
My laboratory is interested in discovering new ways to treat cancer and infectious diseases. There are two main projects in the lab.

The first project is aimed at finding new targets for drug discovery. In the traditional drug discovery process, researchers select a target and then attempt to find appropriate drugs to attack the target. We take a chemical genomic approach using a novel molecular biology method called SICLOPPS (Scott, et al., PNAS (1999) 96:13638-43) to pinpoint the most sensitive targets in diseased cells. Collections of diseased cells are given genetic instructions to make molecules in such a way that each cell gets a different set of instructions. The approach is a bit like a lottery: cells that get instructions to make molecules that cure the disease, or selectively kill cells carrying it, can be identified using powerful genetic selection and screening methods that we develop in the laboratory. Molecular "hits" that emerge from the selection/screening process are produced and studied in detail to determine the physiological target and understand how the hit molecule modulates the target's biochemical function. The end result is identification of the best targets for drug development, and molecules that can serve as lead compounds or even drugs.

The second project is focused on drug resistance in breast cancer. Breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers, and many breast cancer patients have an excellent prognosis for long-term survival. However, some breast cancer patients respond poorly to chemotherapy, and long-term disease-free survival among these patients is rare. Sadly, drug-resistant forms of breast cancer disproportionately strike the youngest patients. We have discovered a potential basis for the difference between treatable and many drug-resistant breast cancers. We are currently trying to exploit this difference to develop drugs that convert resistant cancers into more treatable forms in hopes of prolonging disease-free survival rates for patients with otherwise untreatable forms of breast cancer.
Keywords
biochemistry; biophysics; molecular biology; enzymology; virology; host-pathogen interaction; drug discovery; target discovery; chemical genomics; chemical genetics; chemical biology; intein; combinatorial library; high-throughput screening; small molecule; cyclic peptide; protein engineering; protein-protein interaction; breast cancer
Publications
  • Zanesi N., Aqeilan R., Drusco A., Kaou M., Sevignani C., Costinean S., Bortesi L., La Rocca G., Koldovsky P., Volinia S., Mancini R., Calin G., Scott C. P., Pekarsky Y., Croce C. M. "Effect of Rapamycin on Mouse Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and the Development of Nonhematopoietic Malignancies in E{micro}-TCL1 Transgenic Mice." Cancer Res. 66(2), 915-20, (2006).
  • Abel-Santos, E., Scott, C. P., Benkovic, S. J. "Use of inteins for the in vivo production of stable cyclic peptide libraries in Escherichia coli" in Methods in Molecular Biology: E. coli Gene Expression Protocols, Peter E. Vaillancourt, Ed., 205 281-94 (2003).
  • Kashlan, O. B§, Scott, C. P. §, Lear, J. S., Cooperman, B. S. "A comprehensive model for the allosteric regulation of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase." Biochemistry 41(2), 462-74, (2002).
  • Scott, C. P., Abel-Santos, E., Jones, A. D., Benkovic, S. J. "Structural requirements for the biosynthesis of backbone cyclic peptide libraries." Chemistry & Biology 8 (8), 801-15, (2001).
  • Scott, C. P., Kashlan, O. B., Lear, J. S., Cooperman, B. S. "A quantitative model for allosteric control of purine reduction by murine ribonucleotide reductase." Biochemistry 40 (6), 1651-1661, (2001).
  • Scott, C. P. §, Abel-Santos, E. §, Wall, M., Wahnon, D. C., Benkovic, S. J. "The production of cyclic peptides and proteins in vivo." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 96 (24), 13638-43, (1999).
  • § Authors contributed equally

Individual Expertise profile of Charles P. Scott, Ph.D., Copyright © Charles P. Scott, Ph.D..
Last Updated by Charles Scott, Ph.D. : Wednesday, May 27, 2009 1:16:11 PM




 Printable Version

Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University