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Craig Thomas

Craig J. Thomas, Ph.D.

  • Center for Cancer Research
  • National Cancer Institute
Lymphoid Malignancies Branch

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Craig Thomas uses high-throughput technologies to make novel discoveries at the interface of chemistry and biology. Dr. Thomas serves as leader of chemistry technologies at the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). His research interests include the production of novel screening libraries, the development of biologically active small molecules, the association of phenotype to pharmacology, the phenotypic screening of mechanistically annotated small molecule libraries, the development of novel drug combinations, and the progression of agents into advanced pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Areas of Expertise

Chemical Biology
Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacology
Chemogenomic Screening
Drug Development

Publications

Selected Recent Publications

Therapeutic targeting of ATR yields durable regressions in small cell lung cancers with high replication stress

Thomas A, Takahashi N, Rajapakse VN, Zhang X, Sun Y, Ceribelli M, Wilson KM, Zhang Y, Beck E, Sciuto L, Nichols S, Elenbaas B, Puc J, Dahmen H, Zimmermann A, Varonin J, Schultz CW, Kim S, Shimellis H, Desai P, Klumpp-Thomas C, Chen L, Travers J, McKnight C, Michael S, Itkin Z, Lee S, Yuno A, Lee MJ, Redon CE, Kindrick JD, Peer CJ, Wei JS, Aladjem MI, Figg WD, Steinberg SM, Trepel JB, Zenke FT, Pommier Y, Khan J, Thomas CJ.
Cancer Cell. 39(4): 566-579, 2021.
Full-Text Article
[ Journal Article ]

Targeting AML-associated FLT3 mutations with a type I kinase inhibitor

Jones LM, Melgar K, Bolanos L, Hueneman K, Walker MM, Jiang JK, Wilson KM, Zhang X, Shen J, Jiang F, Sutter P, Wang A, Xu X, Tawa GJ, Hoyt SB, Wunderlich M, O'Brien E, Perentesis JP, Starczynowski DT, Thomas CJ.
Clin Invest.. 130(4): 2017-2023, 2020.
Full-Text Article
[ Journal Article ]

Therapeutic strategies for diffuse midline glioma from high-throughput combination drug screening

Lin GL, Wilson KM, Ceribelli M, Stanton BZ, Woo PJ, Kreimer S, Qin EY, Zhang X, Lennon J, Nagaraja S, Morris PJ, Quezada M, Gillespie SM, Duveau DY, Michalowski AM, Shinn P, Guha R, Ferrer M, Klumpp-Thomas C, Michael S, McKnight C, Minhas P, Itkin Z, Raabe EH, Chen L, Ghanem R, Geraghty AC, Ni L, Andreasson KI, Vitanza NA, Warren KE, Thomas CJ, Monje M.
Sci Transl Med.. 11(519): eaaw0064, 2019.
Full-Text Article
[ Journal Article ]

Overcoming adaptive therapy resistance in AML by targeting immune response pathways

Melgar K, Walker MM, Jones LM, Bolanos LC, Hueneman K, Wunderlich M, Jiang JK, Wilson KM, Zhang X, Sutter P, Wang A, Xu X, Choi K, Tawa G, Lorimer D, Abendroth J, O'Brien E, Hoyt SB, Berman E, Famulare CA, Mulloy JC, Levine RL, Perentesis JP, Thomas CJ, Starczynowski DT.
Sci Transl Med.. 11(508): eaaw8828, 2019.
Full-Text Article
[ Journal Article ]

MEK inhibition induces MYOG and remodels super-enhancers in RAS-driven rhabdomyosarcoma

Yohe ME, Gryder BE, Shern JF, Song YK, Chou HC, Sindiri S, Mendoza A, Patidar R, Zhang X, Guha R, Butcher D, Isanogle KA, Robinson CM, Luo X, Chen JQ, Walton A, Awasthi P, Edmondson EF, Difilippantonio S, Wei JS, Zhao K, Ferrer M, Thomas CJ, Khan J.
Sci Transl Med.. 10(448): eaan4470, 2018.
Full-Text Article
[ Journal Article ]

Covers

Cover of Science Translational Medicine, March 14, 2012

Structure-Guided Design of a High-Affinity Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 Receptor Antagonist That Disrupts Mg2+ Binding to the MIDAS

Published Date

A Better Fit. An improved anticoagulant drug called RUC-2 (ball and stick structure) fits snugly into its binding pocket on integrin (blue), a protein found on the surface of platelets. RUC-2 binds both subunits of integrin, inhibiting the excessive blood coagulation that can lead to strokes and heart attacks. Unlike similar drugs that alter integrin's structure when they bind and trigger unwanted immune responses, RUC-2 does not disturb the configuration of its larger partner. 

Citation

See: Structure-Guided Design of a High-Affinity Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 Receptor Antagonist That Disrupts Mg2+ Binding to the MIDAS by Jieqing Zhu, Won-Seok Choi, Joshua G. McCoy, Ana Negri, Jianghai Zhu, Sarasija Naini, Jihong Li, Min Shen, Wenwei Huang, Daniel Bougie, Mark Rasmussen, Richard Aster, Craig J. Thomas, Marta Filizola, Timothy A. Springer and Barry S. Coller in the Science Translational Medicine20124(125), 125ra32. [CREDIT: C. BICKEL/SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE].