How the Institute arrived here

1. The first lesson: “known” compounds can still be unread

   Prior study does not exhaust biological function. New assay systems can reveal untested activities in already characterized molecules, especially in MYC-driven, high-demand malignant states. (Learn more)

2. The bottleneck: phenotypes without targets

   When a phenotype is compelling but the target is unknown, translation becomes a search problem. Reproducing the phenotype with tractable synthetic chemistry cannot rely on target-first logic. (Learn more)

3. The response: GUNS-DF and tractable mimicry

   GUNS-DF enables rapid identification of phenotype-mimicking synthetic hits and efficient optimization without large screening campaigns. (Learn more)

4. The signature observation: convergence across scaffolds

   Unrelated chemistries repeatedly produced the same disruptions—organelle fragmentation, loss of trafficking coherence, and centrosome fragmentation and declustering—patterns not parsimoniously explained by isolated target models. (Learn more)

The field-making step: SYMPLEX, testability, and SSL
The escalating triplex of GUNS-DF, MIPS, and DrugGPT subjects hypotheses to predefined stress tests and supports SSL as a translationally relevant probe of architectural vulnerability.