An example

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), has been a target for therapeutic intervention for more than twenty years. Great strides have been made in the treatment of AIDS, but drug resistance is still prevalent, warranting further investigation into new therapies. Moreover, though the pharmaceutical industry once had a keen interest in developing drugs for treating HIV infection, in recent years, their research efforts have been concentrated in areas such as oncology, inflammation, diabetes, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, major pharmaceutical companies have markedly reduced their commitment to infectious disease research. New therapies with novel mechanisms of action are still very much needed to ensure AIDS does not re-establish itself as the scourge it once was. The immediate, near-term goal of this research is to establish the chemistry required to optimize the known anti-HIV activity of the natural product, 6,8-diprenylaromadendrin (6,8-DAD; see Figure 1 below). Defining the antiviral mechanism of 6,8-DAD potentially can offer an innovative means for controlling the viral replication of HIV. This research project, to be initiated in the very near future, will rely upon traditional medicinal chemistry for structure optimization, and the use of external collaborations for evaluating the biological activity of novel compounds. The shortand long-term goals of this project will be able to answer the following questions: a) Can more potent analogs of the original natural product be prepared? b) Can we use these new analogs to identify the molecular target of the drug and therefore identify its mechanism of action?