Brian M Paegel

Picture of Brian M Paegel
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor, Chemistry
School of Physical Sciences
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
Ph.D., UC Berkeley, 2003, Chemistry
B.S., Duke University, 1998, Chemistry
Phone: (949) 824-9368
Email: bpaegel@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
101 Theory
Suite 154
Mail Code: 3958
Irvine, CA 92617
Research Interests
Drug discovery, miniaturization, microfluidics, combinatorial chemistry, DNA-encoded libraries
Academic Distinctions
NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow
NIH Pathway to Independence Award
NIH Director's New Innovator Award
NSF CAREER Award
NIH MIRA
Research Abstract
Most scientists recognize the 3 billion bases of DNA sequence as the primary outcome of the Human Genome Project (HGP), but the technology development that it spurred is arguably of deeper significance. Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) platforms, which have globally distributed genome-scale analysis, now also reveal high-definition and often surprising views of cellular metabolism and organization via sequencing-based approaches (RNA-seq, ribosome profiling, Hi-C, etc.). The draft genome also became a call to action: translate sequence into therapies. The NIH Molecular Libraries Program (MLP) was the first such concerted effort, establishing centralized high-throughput screening (HTS) centers to discover drug leads. While the MLP churned out hundreds of chemical “probes” (highly potent and selective bioactive small molecules), the economic burden and rate of discovery did not align with the ambitious goal of drugging the entire proteome. Moreover, long-known criteria defining a protein’s small molecule “druggability” have not changed, leaving the vast majority of the human proteome “undruggable.” The MLP did not address this problem and technology that would render proteome-wide probe discovery feasible akin to that developed for genome sequencing still does not exist. Our laboratory is developing this next-generation drug discovery technology.
Professional Societies
American Chemical Society
Other Experience
Adjunct Professor
Scripps Research 2019
Graduate Programs
Biomedical Engineering
Chemistry
Pharmacological Sciences
Last updated
04/17/2023