Molecular Screening Shared Resource

Delivering High Throughput Screening to the UCLA Research Community

High-Throughput Screening | Drug Discovery | Functional Genomics

The MSSR has automated equipment and data collection that make it possible to test about 30,000 compounds (or more) on a system of interest in about a day

Molecular Screening Shared Resource

The MSSR provides a comprehensive range of high-throughput screening (HTS) services including chemical genomics, functional genomics, and drug discovery.

Molecular Screening Shared Resource

Delivering High Throughput Screening to the UCLA research community

Benefits of working with MSSR
The drug development process requires a heavy investment of resources: capital and personnel. Academic researchers are not in the business of developing drugs nor do they possess the resources to do so. Nonetheless, academic researchers are in the business of finding useful probes for their systems of interest. There are at least 3 aspects of the early stages of the drug discovery process which could be beneficial to an academic researcher:

High Throughput Screening (HTS) Technology
The services provided include the use of high throughput screening (HTS) technology, a total of over 200,000 compounds in various libraries, arrayed genome wide sets for CRISPR, cDNA, shRNA and siRNA for mouse and/or human. We also perform data analysis and cheminformatics taking advantage of deep learning approaches using AI and neuronal networks. The MSSR has automated equipment and data collection that make it possible to test > 100,000 compounds on a system of interest per day. Any readout is addressable: From simple plate reader based luminescent reporter gene readouts all the way to highly multiplexed high content screening applications in 3D that rely on our high throughput confocal capabilities.

Chemical Libraries
The libraries available at the MSSR cover FDA approved drugs for re-purposing, chemical genomics libraries for dissecting biological pathways, and various larger libraries for drug discovery. We also offer libraries of drugs in clinical trials such as kinase inhibitors. The larger the compound collection, the greater chances of finding a hit. Currently, MSSR has over 200,000 chemicals in supply with plans to expand even further!

Databases
The MSSR maintains databases of all assays run and their results. By cross referencing and collaborating with researchers who have employed related assays, additional information may be gained providing deeper insight into processes fundamental to health and disease.

Contact Information:
Robert Damoiseaux, Director
Phone: (310) 794-1974
Email: rdamoiseaux@mednet.ucla.edu

Scientific Advisors
Owen Witte, MD
Jing Huang, PhD

The MSSR is located at 6310 California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Center Highlights
  • High-Throughput-Screening
  • Drug Discovery
  • Functional Genomics & Novel Applications
  • User base includes: Small BioTech, Big Pharma, Academics, NIH
  • Chemical Libraries: 180,000 compounds of drug-like molecules with emphasis on desirable target classes such as kinases, proteases, phosphatases, GPCRs and ion channel
  • cDNA overexpression library of 16,000 clones accessible as "expression-ready" sets
  • Plater reader based readouts and high content screening
Featured News
UC launches drug discovery consortium

UC launches drug discovery consortium

The UC Drug Discovery Consortium aims to support early drug discovery projects on UC campuses by sharing resources and expertise. The consortium launched with the help of a UC grant to the Drug, Device, Discovery and Development workgroup of UC Biomedical Research...

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