Commentary in 2017

Selection of molecular targets based on disease understanding is a dominant paradigm in drug discovery. We argue that a focus on classes of targets with central roles in biology provides a complementary approach that has higher quality outcomes in early discovery efforts.

To fully leverage the potential of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), improved and standardized reprogramming methods and large-scale collections of hiPSC lines are needed, and the stem cell community must embrace chemical biology methodology for target identification and validation.

Cell-to-cell signaling networks, although poorly understood, guide tissue development, regulate tissue function and may become dysregulated in disease. Chemical biologists can develop the next generation of tools to untangle these complex and dynamic networks of interacting cells.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is transforming our views of proteins by revealing how their structures and dynamics are closely intertwined to underlie their functions and interactions. Compelling representations of proteins as statistical ensembles are uncovering the presence and biological relevance of conformationally heterogeneous states, thus gradually making it possible to go beyond the dichotomy between order and disorder through more quantitative descriptions that span the continuum between them.