Project description
Accelerating drug discovery
Indoles are a class of chemical compounds commonly found in many medicines and natural products, making them highly important in drug discovery. However, methods to efficiently modify and diversify indoles are still limited. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EMERALD project addresses this challenge by developing a miniaturised and automated platform that combines chemical synthesis, enzyme-based modification, and high-throughput screening. This approach enables rapid generation and testing of new indole-based molecules using very small sample volumes and reduced solvent use. By evaluating their activity against a key cancer-related target, the project will demonstrate its strong clinical potential while promoting more sustainable, efficient, and innovative strategies for future drug development.
Objective
Indoles are among the most widely encountered scaffolds in medicines and natural products, yet general strategies for their systematic diversification remain limited. Through EMERALD (Enzyme-integrated high-throughput Multicomponent synthesis for Echo enabled Rapid molecule generation and Assay in Lead Discovery), I will unites three complementary techniques into the first miniaturized, automated pipeline for late-stage indole diversification at nanoliter scale (i) multicomponent reactions for efficient and modular assembly of indole frameworks; (ii) enzymatic tailoring, enabling regio- and chemoselective functionalization; and (iii) acoustic droplet ejection combined with real-time mass spectrometry, delivering ultra-high throughput synthesis and analytics with >90% reductions in solvent use. During a secondment at the University of St Andrews, I will evaluate enzyme panels to produce compatibility and selectivity maps directly relevant to drug discovery. Importantly, a subset of the resulting functionalized indoles will be screened against the p53–MDM2 interaction, a clinically validated target in oncology, to demonstrate the platforms’ direct translational potential. By marrying chemical and enzymatic methodologies, EMERALD establishes a sustainable route to novel scaffolds and natural product–inspired analogues, while providing an ideal interdisciplinary training ground at the interface of chemistry, biocatalysis, and automation-ultimately advancing greener drug discovery and fostering my path to research independence.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis biocatalysis
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
771 47 Olomouc
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.