The Derbyshire Lab
Duke University
Departments of Chemistry,
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology,
and Cell Biology
Departments of Chemistry,
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology,
and Cell Biology
We, as a whole, value and welcome people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, abilities, ethnicities, and identities. We embrace the unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that each person brings, as our individuality is crucial to our excellence as a team.
We do not tolerate, and rebuke hateful speech and actions aimed to belittle or harm any person through the use of racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, classism, or any other forms of discrimination.
As members of the Duke University community, we aim to foster inclusive environments to combat the diversity disparity and inequalities within STEM fields. For further resources addressing these issues at Duke University, see here.
Parasites infect billions of humans each year and cause several major diseases, largely in underserved populations in developing parts of the world. Malaria, in particular, is a leading cause of deaths worldwide, and its causative agents, Plasmodium parasites, are crafty as they have successfully eluded our defense mechanisms since they first infected us tens of thousands of years ago.
The Derbyshire Lab uses chemical tools and biological methods to uncover novel aspects of malaria parasite biology with the ultimate aim of identifying druggable targets. Projects range from developing assays for phenotypic and target-based screens – forward and reverse chemical genetics – to dissecting biological pathways and identifying small molecules with potential therapeutic value. Our interdisciplinary collaborative program integrates both novel and established methods to address target identification, which is one of the most challenging aspects of malaria drug discovery. Our lab’s goal is to globally interrogate parasite biology by using chemical biology, molecular biology, biochemistry and parasitology.
Mansfield, C.R., Quan, B., Chirgwin, M.E., Eduful, B., Hughes, P.F., Neveu, G., Sylvester, K., Ryan, D.H., Kafsack, B.F.C., Haystead, T.A.J., Leahy, J.W., Fitzgerald, M.C., Derbyshire, E.R. Selective Targeting of Plasmodium falciparum Hsp90 Disrupts the 26S Proteasome. Cell Chemical Biology 2024, 31, 729-742.
Keeler, A.M., D'Ambrosio, H.K., Ganley, J.G., Derbyshire, E.R. Characterization of Unexpected Self-Acylation Activity of Acyl Carrier Proteins in a Modular Type I Apicomplexan Polyketide Synthase. ACS Chemical Biology 2023, 18, 785-793.
Ong, H.W., de Silva, C., Avalani, K., Kwarcinski, F., Mansfield, C.R., Chirgwin, M., Truong, A., Derbyshire, E.R.,** Zutshi, R.,** Drewry, D.** Characterization of 2,4-dianilinopyrimidines Against Five P. falciparum Kinases PfARK1, PfARK3, PfNEK3, PfPK9 and PfPKB. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2023, 14, 1774-1784.
Congrats to Dr. Chris Mansfield for successfully defending his dissertation!
Congrats to Porter Petruzziello, Isabel Colón and Xeno Hu on receiving a URS award!
Emily is honored to be selected as the 2024 Crano Memorial Lecturer.
Chris Mansfield’s paper linking Plasmodium heat shock protein 90 to proteasome stability is accepted to Cell Chemical Biology. Thankful for the outstanding collaborative team that included the Fitzgerald lab (Duke), Leahy lab (University of South Florida), Haystead lab (Duke) and Kafsack lab (Weill Cornell Medicine). Congrats all!
Erin Schroeder’s paper on the manipulation of the host vesicular trafficking network by apicomplexan parasites is accepted to mSphere. Congrats!
Gaini Ibrasheva joins the lab from the Chemistry Graduate Program. Welcome!
Congrats to Dr. Aaron Keeler for successfully defending his dissertation!
Congrats to Elizabeth Boger and Porter Petruzziello on receiving a URS award!
Former Derbyshire lab undergraduate Meg Shieh received the Pfizer Emergent Leader Award! Congrats Meg!!
Aaron Keeler is selected for a Burroughs Wellcome Fellowship. Congrats!
The labs collaborative work targeting 5 Plasmodium kinases with the Drewry lab (UNC) and Luceome Biotechnologies is published in ACS Med Chem Lett!
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and Cell Biology
Duke University
3218 French Family Science Center
124 Science Drive
Durham, NC 27708
Office phone: 919.660.1511
Email: emily.derbyshireATduke.edu
Lab: 5324 French Family Science Center
Lab phone: 919.684.0413
– Prospective postdoctoral fellows please email an application to Emily.
– Prospective graduate students please consider Duke’s graduate programs in Chemistry, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Cell and Molecular Biology.
– Prospective undergraduate students should contact Emily.
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