Josef Vagner, PhD
Dr. Josef Vagner accepted his position as the Director of the Ligand Discovery Laboratory at the Bio5 Institute on July 1, 2015. Previously, he worked as research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry (Selectide, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and Discovery Partner International). An internationally recognized medicinal chemist, Dr Vagner has focused his research on drug discovery with a special expertise in solid-phase synthesis of compound arrays for pharmacology purposes. His educational background includes a M.S. in pharmaceutical chemistry from The Institute of Technology, Prague, Czech Republic; a PhD in organic chemistry from the Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic, postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota.
Cancer Focus
Josef Vagner, PhD, is a Research Professor at the University of BIO5 Research Institute. Dr. Vagner focused on the design, synthesis, and screening of compound arrays for various biological targets, including ligands targeting GPCRs and multivalent ligands for cancer research. Currently, his efforts focus on targeted microbubbles for cancer imaging as well as cancer treatment. His most recent efforts revolve around multidisciplinary research of ligands designed for targeting the proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR2). Potential inhibitor of this receptor may serve as a therapeutic agent to treat cancer pain.