Oberlies Research Group
| Recent Projects | |
Bioactive Compounds from Fungi  We have several ongoing projects that are exploring fungi, and my lab’s role is largely the isolation and structure elucidation of bioactive lead compounds. Our longest running project is funded by the National Cancer Institute to examine filamentous fungi for anticancer drug leads. Our portion of the larger project is a collaborative effort with Dr. Cedric Pearce and colleagues at Mycosynthetix, who provide cultures of filamentous fungi, and the laboratory of Dr. Brent Stockwell at Columbia University, who evaluate the biological activity of promising leads. Hundreds of fungal cultures are examined each year, and at any one time, more than a dozen cultures are in various stages of dereplication, isolation, and structure elucidation. To date, we have isolated over 100 anticancer lead compounds, with over 33% of these new to the literature. Moreover, even with the known compounds, over 40% of them have not been evaluated previously for anticancer activity. My research team has been studying the chemistry of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) for over a decade. For the most part, this has involved the isolation and characterization of reference standards from the crude extract, which is termed ‘silymarin’. Not only are we able to isolate and characterize all seven major diastereoisomers in silymarin, but we are able to do so on the gram scale, providing ample materials for in vivo studies. We initiated much of this research via funding from the National Toxicology Program, and that evolved into a research collaboration funded by the National Cancer Institute to examine the prostate cancer chemopreventive properties of milk thistle, in fruitful collaboration with Dr. Rajesh Agarwal at the University of Colorado and Dr. David Kroll. Currently, we are also exploring the Mechanisms of Silymarin Hepatoprotection via funding from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in a project led by Dr. Steve Polyak at the University of Washington. Also, we are examining the metabolism of the constituents in milk thistle, particularly in relation to drug-diet interactions in the gut, via funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in a project led by Dr. Mary Paine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mechanisms Underlying Drug-Diet Interactions |
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This project involves a unique collaboration between the fields of metabolism and natural products. In a project led by 