Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Beatriz Baragaña is a Principal Investigator and the apicomplexan portfolio leader in the Drug Discovery Unit (DDU).
Beatriz graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from University of Oviedo (Spain) and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the same university under the supervision of Prof. Barluenga. She went on to join Prof. A. P. Davies lab at Trinity College (Dublin) followed by an industrial postdoctoral position as Medicinal Chemist at Bayer AG (Wuppertal, Germany). She moved to Scotland in 2001 and joined Avecia (now Piramal Pharma) where she became a team leader working in antibody drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer. In 2007 she joined Prof. Ian H. Gilbert group at the University of Dundee.
Beatriz leads a portfolio of projects for malaria, cryptosporidiosis and schistosomiasis drug discovery. The projects in her portfolio are at various stages along the drug discovery pathway and involve an extended network of international collaborators both in industry and academia. Beatriz leads teams of biologists, chemist, computational chemist, crystallographers, and pharmacologists to deliver leads and pre-clinical candidates with novel mode of actions for these infectious diseases. The most advanced compound discovered by her team, Cabamiquine (DDD489) has demonstrated single dose cures of malaria infections in a Phase I clinical study and is now in Phase 2 trials in Africa in combination with pyronaridine. The DDU malaria team has been awarded the Medicines for Malaria Venture Project of the Year Award twice (2014 and 2018).
Research interests
- Target based structure guided drug discovery for infectious diseases with a focus on malaria, tuberculosis, and cryptosporidiosis.
- Develop selective chemical probes to improve the understating of the biology of Plasmodium and Cryptosporidium parasites and unveil new molecular targets for drug discovery.
- Develop new pre-clinical candidates for malaria and cryptosporidiosis.
- Develop the drug discovery pathway for schistosomiasis, including target product profiles, a drug discovery cascade, and better understanding of the PK/PD.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Structure-guided drug discovery coalition
Baragana, B. (Investigator), Bodkin, M. (Investigator), Gilbert, I. (Investigator) & Postis, V. (Investigator)
1/07/24 → 31/12/26
Project: Research
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Fighting Malaria: PfGNA1 as a Novel Malaria Drug Target
Baragana, B. (Investigator), Gilbert, I. (Investigator) & Postis, V. (Investigator)
Project: Research
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Target Discovery for Antimalarials (Joint with University of California San Diego)
Baragana, B. (Investigator) & Gilbert, I. (Investigator)
University of California at San Diego
1/01/21 → 1/01/22
Project: Research
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Genetic Validation of a Promising Drug Target for Cryptosporidiosis
Baragana, B. (Investigator), Gilbert, I. (Investigator), Pawlowic, M. C. (Investigator) & Wyllie, S. (Investigator)
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
20/08/19 → 19/02/21
Project: Research
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Cryptosporidium lysyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitors define the interplay between solubility and permeability required to achieve efficacy
Caldwell, N., Peet, C., Miller, P., Colon, B., Taylor, M., Cocco, M., Dawson, A., Lukac, I., Teixeira, J. E., Robinson, L., Frame, L., Seizova, S., Damerow, S., Tamaki, F., Post, J., Riley, J., Mutter, N., Hanna, J. C., Ferguson, L. & Hu, X. & 13 others, , 23 Oct 2024, In: Science Translational Medicine. 16, 770, p. 1-12 12 p., eadm8631.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)52 Downloads (Pure) -
Anti-Infective Agents
Gilbert, I. (Inventor), Baragana, B. (Inventor), Caldwell, N. (Inventor), Taylor, M. (Inventor), Forte, B. (Inventor), Cocco, M. (Inventor) & Jansen, C. (Inventor), 2 Nov 2023, IPC No. A61K31/519, A61P33/02, C07D487/04, Patent No. WO 2023/209336 A1, 20 Apr 2023, Priority date 26 Apr 2022, Priority No. GB202206076AResearch output: Patent
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Design of the Global Health chemical diversity library v2 for screening against infectious diseases
Wilson, C., Gardner, J. M. F., Gray, D., Baragana, B., Wyatt, P., Cookson, A., Thompson, S., Mendoza Martinez, C., Bodkin, M., Gilbert, I. (Lead / Corresponding author) & Tarver, G. (Lead / Corresponding author), 27 Dec 2023, In: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 17, 12, 13 p., e0011799.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)65 Downloads (Pure) -
Identification and Optimization of Novel Inhibitors of the Polyketide Synthase 13 Thioesterase Domain with Antitubercular Activity
Green, S. R. (Lead / Corresponding author), Wilson, C., Eadsforth, T. C., Punekar, A. S., Tamaki, F. K., Wood, G., Caldwell, N., Forte, B., Norcross, N. R., Kiczun, M., Post, J. M., Lopez-Román, E. M., Engelhart, C. A., Lukac, I., Zuccotto, F., Epemolu, O., Boshoff, H. I. M., Schnappinger, D., Walpole, C. & Gilbert, I. H. & 3 others, , 23 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 66, 22, p. 15380-15408 29 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)60 Downloads (Pure) -
Mode of action studies confirm on-target engagement of lysyl-tRNA synthetase inhibitor and lead to new selection marker for Cryptosporidium
Hanna, J. C. .., Corpas Lopez, V., Seizova, S., Colon, B. L., Bacchetti, R., Hall, G. M. J., Sands, E. M., Robinson, L., Baragaña, B., Wyllie, S. (Lead / Corresponding author) & Pawlowic, M. (Lead / Corresponding author), 4 Aug 2023, In: Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. 13, 14 p., 1236814.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile8 Citations (Scopus)95 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
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Drugging acetyl-CoA synthetase
Baragana, B. (Speaker)
13 Jan 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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The drug discovery unit: collaborating to develop antimalarials with novel modes of action
Baragana, B. (Speaker)
3 Jul 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Doors Open Day 2023: School of Life Sciences Tours
Floyd, A. (Organiser), Mackintosh, A. (Organiser), Baragana, B. (Speaker) & Joji, H. (Speaker)
24 Sept 2023Activity: Other activity types › Public engagement and outreach - festival/exhibition
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Collaborating to develop antimalarials with novel modes of action
Baragana, B. (Speaker)
30 Oct 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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Drugging acetyl-CoA synthetase
Baragana, B. (Speaker)
13 Jan 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk