February 2011: GPCRDOCK2010 City of Hope team triumphs in the contest. The contest, called GPCR Dock 2010, sponsored by The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., invited research teams from around the world to predict the structures of  chemokine receptor CXCR4 and dopamine receptor D3DR. key proteins that affect brain function, immune response and other important functions. For the GPCR Dock contest, researchers at the Scripps Institute determined the shape of two proteins, called CXCR4 and dopamine receptor D3, using established methods that, while reliable, are slow, difficult and expensive. Without revealing the proteins’ shapes, the Scripps scientists next asked contestants to predict their findings. Out of more than 32 groups aiming to predict CXCR4’s structure, the City of Hope team lead by Dr. Vaidehi placed second. We also placed third out of 25 groups working on the dopamine receptor. Equally important, they correctly ranked their predictions for both proteins: Protein Modelers Earn High Honors for Accuracy in World Wide Contest.

April 2011: Vaidehi’s team along with Dr. Kim’s team and Dr. Yip’s team at City of Hope identified choloroquine targets the chemokine receptor for cancer, especially pancreatic cancer. A clinical study is being developed based on this study.