Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation
About CDDI
In 2017, USF's Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) transitioned to a new leadership team in the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information about CDDI, please feel free to contact Dr. James Leahy.
Our Mission
The Center for Drug Discovery and Innovation (CDDI) is a Florida Center of Excellence serving the research community at the University of South Florida. From concept to clinical trials there are significant challenges in the successful development of new pharmaceuticals. It is the mission of CDDI to assist research groups at USF in overcoming some of the critical bottlenecks in early-phase drug discovery. CDDI will provide researchers access to specialized equipment not available in most research laboratories that is important for validating protein drug targets and the development of small molecule inhibitors. The CDDI Core Facilities offer a wide choice of analytical methods with application to the general analysis of proteins and cells. CDDI operates on the principle that success is best achieved through active partnership in a setting that trains individual researchers to work independently and return to their home laboratory with new skills and knowledge gained in their CDDI experience. CDDI aims to recruit and retain leading researchers in early-phase drug discovery and to support a culture of discovery that will lead to "home-grown", USF-discovered drugs advancing to clinical use.
Core Facilities and Areas of Focus
The specialized instrumentation cores and technical expertise within CDDI are focused on protein and small molecule production and the molecular analysis of proteins.