Laura Ortega

Nationality:

    Spain

Institution:

Institut Pasteur

Supervision:

Prof. Michael Nilges (IP), Dr. Wolfgang Jahnke (PUM)

Research Topic:

Innovative inhibition strategy against functional structural transitions of essential pathogenic factors.

About the project:

The aim of this project is to develop innovative drug design strategies using novel computational approaches based on a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in pathological processes.

We want to implement methods to study functional molecular motions of pathogenic factors, analyze the evolution of cavities associated with those motions and identify new putative binding sites for the design and identification of new modulators for selected targets.

Among the targets we want to address are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels, involved in many neurological disorders, Subtilisin-like proteases PSUB1 and Lactate dehydrogenase , essential enzymes for Plasmodium species responsible for malaria and Proline racemase found in Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma  vivax.

 

Personal information:

Graduated from the University of Salamanca (Spain), I obtained my master’s degree in Drug Design from the University of Alcala (Madrid, Spain). I was trained in the Medicinal Chemistry Department at the Lilly Research and Development Center in Alcobendas (Madrid, Spain) and in the Computational Chemical Biology group in the Spanish National Research Council (CIB-CSIC. Madrid, Spain) before joining the AEGIS program.

 

Secondments:

Astra Zeneca (3 Monate)

List of publications:

 

List of posters:

Institut Curie & Institut Pasteur Joint Retreat (Normandie, France, 10-12th June 2016). Structural Biology and Chemistry Departmental Retreat (Paris, France, 10-12th October 2016).

 

List of presentations:

Molecular dynamics and virtual drug screening of nicotinic receptors. Elaboration of a dedicated library to target Nicotinic Receptors.  Inaugural meeting HBP CDP6-SP8.8 Computational drug design. Institut Pasteur, Paris. 06 July 2017.