Grant: CIHR Fellowship

The health outcomes of existing drugs can be dramatically improved by obtaining better information about when they should be prescribed. Genetic variation between individuals can cause drugs to affect each of us a little bit differently. In some cases, minor genetic variations that are normally not apparent can lead to statistically significant differences in the efficacy of a particular drug, or susceptibility to unwanted side-effects. As genomic sequencing becomes cheaper and more common, so increases our ability to harness genetic variation to predict which drugs are most likely to be beneficial for a particular individual. However, in order to reap the benefits of personalized medicine, we must first construct a map of the interactions between available drugs and our genomic variability. The construction of such a map in clinical human trials is fraught with ethical considerations that rightly complicate such an approach. In this research, we instead use high-resolution computer simulations of proteins and their interactions with drugs to identify the molecular basis of differential drug activities based on genetic variation. Understanding these mechanisms can help us to predict favourable drug-genome combinations and even to rationally design new drugs that take advantage of genomic synergies. This research represents a first step in the journey to provide physicians and pharmaceutical companies with the information that they need to increase drug efficacy, reduce adverse effects, and lower the cost to the health care provider, all based on knowing which drug will work best for which person.