About
Dr. Celine Cano is a research-focused academic at Newcastle University's Faculty of Medical Sciences within the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, with a distinguished career spanning nearly two decades in cancer drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. Her work centers on developing targeted therapies, particularly kinase inhibitors and MDM2-p53 interaction antagonists, with significant contributions to understanding molecular mechanisms in oncology.
Her research interests encompass cancer drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, and kinase inhibitor development, with specialized expertise in covalent drug design, fragment-based screening, and structural optimization of anticancer agents. Dr. Cano has pioneered work on MDM2-p53 inhibitors, ERK5 modulators, and PROTAC technologies, focusing on enhancing therapeutic indices while minimizing toxicity through precise molecular engineering.
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2020-2024) reveals a dominant focus on targeted cancer therapies, particularly small-molecule antagonists of protein-protein interactions (MDM2-p53) and kinase inhibitors (ERK5, Nek2, NIK). Her work demonstrates consistent innovation in covalent drug design, pharmacokinetic optimization, and structural biology approaches to overcome resistance mechanisms. Notable trends include the development of differentiated pharmacokinetic profiles in next-generation MDM2 antagonists and sophisticated linker strategies for PROTACs.
Dr. Cano maintains extensive collaborative networks across Newcastle University's cancer research ecosystem, particularly with groups led by Professors Ian Hardcastle, Bernard Golding, and Steve Wedge. Her research has been instrumental in advancing multiple drug candidates through preclinical development, with several publications describing compounds that have progressed to therapeutic evaluation.