Anthony Burgett, PhD

Biography

Anthony Burgett, PhD is an interdisciplinary organic chemistry and cell biology researcher with extensive experience in the molecular pharmacology, organic synthesis, bioanalysis, and drug development of bioactive small molecules. The purpose of his academic research career is to discover and define the cellular mechanisms of action through which novel compounds affect biological systems, and then to apply these research advancements to unlock new understandings in cellular biology and to launch new approaches in the therapeutic intervention of human disease, particularly cancer. To accomplish this research purpose, he has established an intensely cross-disciplinary research group capable of applying experimental methods in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, cellular biology, protein biochemistry, molecular biology, and analytical chemistry.

The major project in the research group is to understand the cellular function and disease-biology-relevance of the oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP) and its closest paralog OSBP-related protein 4 (ORP4). Despite sharing significant sequence similarity, OSBP and ORP4 have completely different tissue distribution patterns and reported cellular functions. Recently, OSBP, and not ORP4, has been identified as a human protein critical for the replication of a broad range of RNA pathogenic viruses. Alternatively, ORP4, but not OSBP, has been identified as a cancer specific driver of abnormal cellular proliferation, including in patient cancer populations.

In addition to applying established methods in cellular biology and biochemistry, the group employs small molecule effectors of the OSBP and ORP4 designed and made in the group as chemical probes of OSBP/ORP function, and they are launching drug development programs based on the OSBP and ORP4 chemical probes. Our utilization of high affinity, specific OSBP/ORP ligands has led to multiple discoveries of OSBP/ORP cellular function and led to novel antiviral and precision anticancer drug development programs.

Multiple publication from the group have contributed to the understanding of the role of OSBP in RNA viral proliferation. They have discovered a unique method of cellular regulation of OSBP, which suggests OSBP has a role in innate antiviral immunity. Additionally, the team has determined the known, structurally-diverse OSBP-targeting antiviral compounds have multiple modes of interacting with OSBP. They have shown that one OSBP-targeting antiviral compound, OSW-1, has both prophylactic and antiproliferative activity at low nanomolar concentrations against multiple RNA viruses. The work demonstrates that the OSW-1 compound could be the first prophylactic, broad-spectrum antiviral compound that functions through targeting a human host protein.

The team has an extensive program in using the anticancer small molecule OSW-1 as a chemical probe and drug development starting point to study the activity of OSBP and ORP4. A recent publication of the team, focused on ORP4 as a precision cancer target in ovarian cancer, determined that the OSW-1 compound is more potent than standard of care chemotherapeutics agents against a panel of ovarian cancer cell lines, culture in 2D monolayer and 3D spheroids. They have an advanced program in the synthesis of OSW-1 and OSW-1-derived analogs, to drive our molecular pharmacology and medicinal chemistry programs.

Email

Anthony-Burgett@ouhsc.edu

Publications

Bibliography

Research Interests:

• Molecular Pharmacology
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Drug Discovery
• Drug Development
• Organic Synthesis
• Chemical Biology

Notable Work