Our group is engaged in activities which will assist in the understanding of how small organic molecules interact with biological systems. Our research goals can be understood in the context of a pharmacological theory called ADME. ADME stands for: Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion. ADME generally applies to humans and drugs (small organic molecules) and strives to answer the following:

How is the drug absorbed into the body?

How does this drug distribute throughout the body?

How is the drug metabolized within the body?

How is the drug excreted from the body?

Pharmaceutical companies are actively engaged in finding small organic molecules (drugs) that can modulate the human condition (performance, health, etc). With each new drug, extensive ADME data collection is done in order to understand how these drugs might affect the patient. As you might image, the interaction between a drug and a given patient is highly complex and as a result, pharmaceutical companies are not required to FULLY understand all of these ADME aspects, but do need to present a case to the FDA so that they will allow the drug to be administered to patients. The interactions between a pharma company and the FDA is complex, starting with the pharma company submitting information to the Investigational New Drug (IND) program. After review, the pharma company then submits a New Drug Application (NDA). The filing of an NDA will lead to human clinical trials and ultimately a prescription drug.

The focus of research done in the Sturgeon labs falls under 3 main areas: