Engaging research

We design molecules to see how they're structured and how they bond with each other in biological settings—lessons that have the potential to improve a wide range of medical treatments.

Taking aim at prostate cancer

Medical chemist Fraser Hof is on the hunt for ways to stop a killer. No, he's not a policeman or a crime scene investigator. But he is a detective of sorts. Hof is hot on the trail of a molecule in our bodies that when accidentally activated in men can lead to a particularly aggressive form of prostate cancer. His mission is to find a way to neutralize it.

As the Canada Research Chair in Supramolecular and Medicinal Chemistry, Hof studies how molecules bind together. “We design molecules to see how they’re structured and how they bond with each other in biological settings—lessons that have the potential to improve a wide range of medical treatments,” he says.

Recently, Hof and his team created compounds that interfere with a key protein molecule associated with prostate cancer. “There’s still a lot of work to do—probably eight to 10 years—before this discovery could become a drug for use on humans,” he says. “But it has promise.” Learn more about Hof’s research.  

Researchers like Fraser Hof are just one of the reasons UVic is consistently ranked as one of Canada’s leading research universities. Learn more about research in the Faculty of Science.