Rachel Hammond

While many diseases can be treated via modulation of protein function, often these more traditional approaches do not apply in the context of missing or nonfunctional proteins. The Burke Lab has therefore pioneered the field of ‘molecular prosthetics’ where small molecules can replace protein function. Molecular prosthetics have so far shown efficacy in the context of channelopathies using the small molecule natural products Amphotericin B and Hinokitiol. Building on this foundation, my research seeks to determine if a fully synthetic, functional small molecule can be designed to replace protein function in a new context – inborne errors of metabolism.