The High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center, in collaboration with other scientists at UF Scripps and around the world, identifies drug-like compounds that can help researchers better understand and ultimately cure diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and hepatitis.

By combining robotics, biology, chemistry and informatics, the High-Throughput Molecular Screening Center is able to perform High-Throughput Screening, a robotic process that tests hundreds of thousands of drug-like compounds for biological activity both rapidly and economically. In addition, we have the personnel and facilities to engage both pre- and post-HTS activities, including HTS assay development, cheminformatics, compound synthesis/procurement, compound QC (via LC-MS) and mechanism of action/profiling studies. We work with mammalian, yeast, insect, parasite and bacterial targets.

Since establishing operations in 2005, we have screened over 485 targets in over 450 primary campaigns to generate more than 200 million data points for both industrial and academic collaborations. Numerous scientific papers and presentations demonstrate our ability to produce excellent research-driven data. Our screening results have led to the development of over 70 bioactive molecular probes as novel drug targets for biomedical studies. Two probes have now been approved by the FDA as New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for clinical trials in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and cancer as licensed by Receptos and Cleave Biosciences. We also design and build novel screening technologies.

For academic collaborators, a popular way to access our expertise and facilities is through NIH-sponsored mechanisms. Industrial and academic collaborators can also directly sponsor specific screening activities. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like more information.