Scientific Advisors
Dr. Corrie Detweiler is a Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology at University of Colorado Boulder, a leading expert in bacterial pathogenesis and the discovery of chemicals with anti-Gram-negative bacterial activity, and a co-founder of Bactria Pharmaceuticals, LLC. The goal of the Detweiler Lab is to discover new chemicals entities that possess the requisite anti-microbial properties to be developed into novel therapeutic treatments. Under Dr. Detweiler’s leadership the Lab established that Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium resides within hemophagocytes, macrophages that have engulfed red and white blood cells, and demonstrated that these cells express markers consistent with an anti-inflammatory phenotype. This expertise with macrophages was used to develop a new platform, SAFIRE, (Screen for Anti-infectives using Fluorescence microscopy of IntracellulaR Enterobacteriaceae) to screen for hit compounds that have potential as antimicrobials and as chemical probes of host-pathogen interactions. The Lab is currently establishing compound mechanism of action with a focus on bacterial efflux pump inhibitors and small molecules that damage bacterial inner membranes. Dr. Detweiler participates in NIH study sections 2-4 times per year and is the Editor in Chief of the American Society for Microbiology’s Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews (MMBR) journal. She also co-designed and taught an on-going CURE (course undergraduate research experience) based on antibiotic discovery.
Dr. Michael Barbachyn is a scientific advisor and a former Professor of Chemistry, Calvin University. He has over 30 years of scientific and director-level experience, at multiple large pharmaceutical companies, in the research and development of diverse classes of anti-infective drugs, including monocyclic beta-lactams, quinolones and oxazolidinones. Dr. Barbachyn is an accomplished medicinal chemist with an extensive track record of success in the antibacterial area. As a highlight, he co-invented the oxazolidinone antibacterial agents' linezolid (marketed as Zyvox™) and sutezolid, currently in Phase 2 trials as a potential treatment for drug-resistant TB. Dr. Barbachyn is an inventor on 39 issued U.S. Patents and has authored or co-authored 46 papers and chapters in the chemistry and anti-infective fields. Dr. Barbachyn is currently serving as an inaugural member of the Scientific Advisory Board for NIAID’s new CC4CARB (Chemistry Center For Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria) Gram-negative initiative. Dr. Barbachyn is advising Bactria in the areas of structure-aided drug design and medicinal chemistry and has been a consultant for the Detweiler lab since 2017.
Dr. David Payne is a scientific advisor. Dr. Payne serves as the Vice President and Head of Infectious Diseases Research Unit, GSK plc, and has extensive experience in the research and development of multiple classes of anti-infectives that includes small molecule, monoclonal antibodies, and antisense modalities. Dr. Payne spent a significant portion of his career focused on addressing anti-microbial resistance where he led teams that progressed >30 entirely novel antibacterial targets and established and led multiple collaborations with other companies that included the development of bacterial efflux inhibitors. Dr. Payne has authored multiple publications on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) including Payne DJ, Miller LF, Findlay D, Anderson J, Marks L. 2015 Time for a change: addressing R&D and commercialization challenges for antibacterials. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 370: 20140086. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2014.0086.
Dr. Edward W. Yu, Co-investigator, is a Professor and Interim Chair of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Yu is a leading expert on the structure, assembly, and mechanism of the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND)-superfamily efflux pumps. Dr. Yu has extensive experience using Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and cryo- electron microscopy (cryo-EM) methodology to study efflux pumps and elucidate the binding and mechanism of action of compounds that modulate the function of efflux pumps, including efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs). Drs. Yu and Detweiler have coauthored two manuscripts to date.
Dr. Daniel Flynn, Ph.D. is the former Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and an
Adjunct Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Kansas-Lawrence. Dr. Flynn has extensive industry experience in small molecule
medicinal chemistry and drug development, including structural aided drug design and preclinical profiling of potential drug candidates. Dr. Flynn is
a scientific advisor to Bactria on medicinal chemistry, structural aided drug design and the selection of lead candidate EPIs. Dr. Flynn and Mr. Morl
worked closely together at Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., on the pre-clinical and clinical development of kinase inhibitors.