david perrin
About the Perrin Research Lab
We do fantastic things with chemistry to solve problems in biology. We’re tackling problems in cancer imaging and treatment, metal sensing, and antiviral agents made of peptides, DNA or both.
Group Events
While we work hard, we do find time to get together and have fun as a group as we celebrate achievements, publications, thesis defenses and graduations.
Synthesis
A large part of our work relies on synthesizing novel building blocks with multiple heteroatoms including fluorine, boron, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, oxygen, silicon, halogens, and an occasional selenium atom; these are used to explore new methods and create new molecules as probes for biology
Nucleic Acids
We are pioneering the use of synthetically modified nucleosides for selecting cell-surface recognition aptamers, therapeutic DNAzymes for cleaving viral messenger RNA, and sensors for toxic metals.
Peptides
Modified peptides, peptide natural products and new peptides inspired by Nature pique our synthetic interests and serve as new therapeutic leads.
PET Imaging
Non-invasive PET imaging is playing an increasingly important role in cancer diagnosis and staging as it allows sensitive and deep-tissue localization of tumors and metastases. In comparison to MRI or SPECT, PET combines very high sensitivity with dynamic spatio-temporal resolution to examine bio-distribution and clearance. In a study of 3,779 Canadian patients, PET imaging resulted […]
Stealth Projects
We have a few skunkworks for turning “science fiction” into “science fact”: our lab maintains a culture of innovation, risk-taking, and out-of-the-box thinking for innovation and impact that can change business as usual with totally new chemistry. We are always looking for students who want to create something new.