# Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of small-molecule disruption of viral replication machinery

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · 2021 · $196,724

## Abstract

5. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of small-molecule disruption of viral replication
machinery
Project Leader: Juan Perilla (CBC)
Computational modeling and simulations provide a powerful toolset to determine the atomistic
mechanisms underlying biological processes, such as those that occur during the life cycle of a
pathogen. Likewise, computational methods can be leveraged to reveal the mechanisms by which
these processes are altered or disrupted by small-molecule therapeutics. The work proposed
here aims to elucidate the chemical and physical effects of small molecules on the
replication machinery essential to a highly relevant human pathogen, namely HIV-1.
Despite the success of several antiretrovirals, the virus has evolved resistance to all known drugs.
Remarkably, not a single drug has been developed against large protein assemblies like the viral
capsid therefore providing an unexploited therapeutic target. The work proposed here aims to
elucidate the chemical and physical effects of small molecules on the capsid-related replication
machinery essential to HIV. Importantly, the proposed work is not only relevant for HIV patients
as HIV serves as a model for other human diseases, including virus-related cancer. In addition,
the cutting-edge methods developed herein will be directly applicable to other virus and bacterial
assemblies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10234178
- **Project number:** 5P20GM104316-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
- **Principal Investigator:** Juan Roberto Perilla Jimenez
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $196,724
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10234178

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10234178, Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of small-molecule disruption of viral replication machinery (5P20GM104316-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10234178. Licensed CC0.

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