Research

Overview

Our laboratory explores the chemistry and biology of small molecules and proteins, drawing from core disciplines in inorganic, organic, and biological chemistry, as well as neuroscience. Our research objectives are to (a) identify how biomolecular networks composed of small organic and inorganic molecules (e.g., organic neurotransmitters and metal ions), peptides or proteins, and mediators for oxidative stress and inflammation are linked to human neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington's, and Prion diseases; (b) establish new directions for developing chemical reagents as tools, diagnostics, and therapeutics for such diseases. These goals can be accomplished through (i) elucidating the complicated and inter-communicated pathogeneses of human neurodegenerative diseases at the molecular level; (ii) designing small molecule-based or protein-based reagents as chemical tools through understanding the complicated biomolecular networks and as multi-tasking diagnostics or therapeutics. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the 'Lim lab' have been engaging in synthetic chemistry (organic and inorganic syntheses), physical methods (e.g., NMR, EPR, IR, CD, and UV-vis spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography), as well as biochemical and biological techniques (biochemical assays, mammalian cell culture/analysis, and in vivo investigations using diseased models).