New Bright Angel for Developing Antifungal Drugs
Dr. Luke Whitesell, the company’s co-founder and scientific advisor, recently relocated to Toronto from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he helped lead research in the large, interdisciplinary Lindquist Lab at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, Whitesell had his own lab at the University of Arizona, where he was a professor of Paediatrics. He has also collaborated with a variety of research groups including teams at the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Harvard Medical School’s Institute of Chemistry and Cell Biology and the National Institutes of Health National Centre for Advancing Translational Sciences to find new therapeutics through chemical screening projects.
In addition to his new role with Bright Angel, Whitesell is also a senior research associate in the lab of Professor Leah Cowen, Chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics. He recently spoke to writer Erin Howe about his research and new role.
Tell me about Bright Angel’s goals — I understand the company is working to develop a drug that will help fight drug-resistant fungal diseases.
Launch of the company was made possible by partnering with Schrödinger, Inc., a privately-held company dedicated to revolutionizing drug discovery through advanced computational methods, and MaRS Innovation, a non-profit organization supporting the commercialization of research breakthroughs from Toronto’s leading academic institutions. The limited interest of large pharmaceutical companies in developing antibiotics is a well-recognized problem. The situation is concerning with regards to antibacterials, but far worse for antifungals where serious unmet medical needs not only persist, but are rapidly escalating. Given this challenging landscape, Bright Angel is pursuing a more cost-effective, biotech-based path to antifungal drug development made possible by new insights into the biology of fungal infections from the labs with which I have been involved and the engagement of Schrödinger and MaRS Innovation in the process.
What excites you most about this area of study?
Life-threatening infections by fungi have a huge impact on human health. These organisms pose a threat on par with prominent bacterial and protozoan pathogens such as those causing tuberculosis and malaria. The most vulnerable are people with compromised immune systems, including those undergoing chemotherapy, recipients of solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplants and those infected with HIV. In my former life as a paediatric oncologist, I saw many children die from uncontrollable fungal infections even though their cancer was under control. The opportunity to help provide much needed, better treatments for these kinds of infection is a very exciting prospect.
In addition to your work with Bright Angel, you’ve also been named a senior research associate in Professor Leah Cowen’s lab. What are you looking forward to in this part of your work?
I have known Professor Cowen for over a decade now, since she was a postdoc in the laboratory of Susan Lindquist when I was on a sabbatical from my position as professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona. Because of our very different, but complementary areas of expertise, we have continued to work together over the years, especially in the area of heat shock biology. I know from personal experience she is a fantastic scientist. With my background in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, I’m looking forward to helping her guide the drug discovery and chemical biology efforts being pursued by the great group of scientists she has assembled in her lab.
You’ve also practiced medicine as paediatric hematologist-oncologist. How does your clinical experience complement your work in the lab?
As a paediatric oncologist, I was involved in the clinical development of new cancer treatments for well over two decades and the care of many children with invasive fungal infections. I’m acutely aware of the need for better antifungal treatments and the specific gaps that need to be filled. I am convinced that new, more effective and resistance-disfavoring treatments can only be discovered and developed through a better understanding of the mechanisms by which fungi are able to infect people and grow within them. Deciphering these mechanisms is a major focus of the work going on in Professor Cowen’s lab.
What interested you in continuing your work at U of T?
come to the University of Toronto with the express purpose of helping Professor Cowen realize the challenging goals she has set for her research program and to help guide Bright Angel in these early days while it tries to turn theory into practice.
How are you settling in? What are your favourite parts of Toronto so far?
Our re-location to Toronto has gone surprisingly well. We were fortunate to find a nice, snug home to rent near the Christie Pits Park and Koreatown. I’m able to walk back and forth to the University, which allows me “thinking time” each day and provides for a bit of exploring along the way. We’ve enjoyed trying out the enormous variety of restaurants in our neighborhood. Our new neighbors have been very friendly and welcoming. The university administrators who facilitated my on-boarding have also been terrific.
As a bit of deep background, my 99-year-old mom is Canadian. She grew up in Medicine Hat, AB before being sent to the United States to work in the British Embassy during World War II, back when Canada was part of the British Empire. I spent many summers with my grandparents in Calgary and have done a lot of hiking, camping and fishing in the Canadian Rockies. My wife and I are looking forward to exploring the parks in Ontario, but only once it warms up a bit!