CSB Seminar – Professor Randall Peterson, University of Utah

Whereas chemical biology and biochemistry have traditionally focused on simple, in vitro assays, many of the most important disease phenomena are difficult to reduce to an in vitro assay. These organismal processes are best studied in vivo, and consequently have not been amenable to high-throughput biology. The zebrafish is allowing scientists to model disease processes at the scale and throughput of in vitro systems. We are developing methodologies that enable small molecule screening to be applied to organismal processes as diverse as germ cell development and opioid addiction. Recently, we have discovered small molecules with novel activities on the cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems. I will describe how the compounds were discovered, what they have taught us about biology, and how they might find practical or clinical utility.