Epigenetic Drug Discovery: Advancements, Challenges and Applications in Precision Medicine

This book reviews the evolving field of epigenetics and its implications for drug discovery and precision medicine. It also focuses on the intricate mechanisms governing gene regulation and the impact of epigenetics on health and disease. The book encompasses the complexities of epigenetic mechanisms and their role in diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory conditions, and neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, it examines the role of miRNA as an epigenetic drug in treating cancer and in-silico approaches to epigenetic drug discovery. The book uncovers the potential of epigenetic drug discovery, including insights into traditional medicine, marine sources, and OMICS technologies. Moreover, it explores the interplay between gut microbiota, probiotics, and prebiotics in epigenetic therapeutic approaches. With a focus on personalized medicine and recent advancements in drug delivery systems, this book is intended for researchers, clinicians, and pharmaceutical professionals seeking to explore epigenetic drug discovery and development.

Key features

• Discusses the implications of epigenetic mechanisms in different diseases and epigenetic based drug discovery
• Reviews development of targeted therapies based on epigenetic mechanisms for cancer, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative conditions, and inflammatory diseases
• Emphasizes the importance of precision medicine and personalized therapies based on epigenetic profiling
• Explores application of artificial intelligence in designing novel delivery systems for epigenetic drugs
• Presents role of advance in-silico and drug discovery tools in the development of epigenetic drugs

Dr M V N L Chaitanya, BPharm, M Pharm (Phytopharmacy and Phytomedicine), PhD (Pharmacognosy); Educationist and Researcher was born on November 10, 1982, in Rajahmundry (A.P.), India. He has 14 years of experience in industry, academia, and herbal research. He is currently working as a professor in the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India. Dr Chaitanya is a well-recognized conceptualist in herbal medicine, anticancer drug discovery and development, crystal healing, and psychic reading at the Indian and African levels. He has a keen ability in laboratory drug discovery and development from herbs, weeds, algae, and mushrooms, with a proven ability in quality documentation. An awardee of various awards such as the INSA Visiting Scientist award for 2019, the AIMF award for 2019, the NFPS best professor award for 2022, and the DK International Best Researcher award for 2023. He is a life member of the Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India, the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, the Institute of Scholars (Insc), and the International Natural Product Sciences Task Force. He had visited three African countries as part of academic research to explore the phytochemicals in Indo-African plants against resistant diseases such as cancer, malaria, and tuberculosis. Dr Chaitanya's extensive body of work includes numerous research papers, peer-reviewed articles, books, and book chapters, and he holds multiple patents for his innovations.

Dr Trudi Collet, a biochemist, was awarded her PhD from the Queensland University of Technology in 2007. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and investigated novel serological markers for the differential diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease. Since 2009, she has returned to QUT and is now the leader of the Innovative Medicines Group (IMG), which is based at the Kelvin Grove campus of the Queensland University of Technology. The IMG conducts research on the medicinal properties of Australian native plants. Using plant-derived bioactive compounds and extracts, the IMG evaluates the biological potential including bactericidal effects, the deadly ESKAPE pathogens; viricidal effects against members of the Flaviviridae family (Dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses); wound healing properties; antimicrobial effects against sexually transmitted diseases and novel pharmacotherapeutic targets for common neurological disorders.

Prof Jon Adams is Distinguished Professor of Public Health, Director of the Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM) and Deputy Head of School (Research) at the School of Public Health, UTS. Professor Adams was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Senior Scholarship (Fulbright Commission, 2019-2020). Professor Adams is the world-leading public health and health services researcher focused upon self-care, informal health care and traditional, complementary, integrative and indigenous medicine use and practice. Professor Adams' research program has attracted over $20.7M in competitive external funding to date including 23 Category 1 Grants (with 17 NHMRC and ARC grants). His extensive research program, conducted with many industry partners (>$10M in partnership funding), includes focus upon practice-based research networks (PBRNs), implementation science and translation research and mixed methods design. Professor Adams has authored over 560 peer-reviewed academic publications and is Chief Editor of eight international research books and author of over 70 book chapters with leading publishers.

Dr Kamal Dua is Associate Professor in the Discipline of Pharmacy at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Dr. Dua has been recognized and named one of Australia’s Top 250 researchers in 2025 and 2024 in Research Magazine by "The Australian" in the research discipline of health and medical sciences and no. 1 research leader in the area of pharmacology and pharmacy (2025) and toxicology (2024), respectively. With over 17 years of research experience, he has specialized in drug delivery targeting inflammatory diseases. Additionally, he also leads drug delivery research at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. In this role, he focuses on advancing targets identified in research projects to develop innovative formulations, taking the first steps toward clinical translation. His research encompasses two complementary areas: drug delivery and immunology. His work explores how these disciplines can mutually benefit, contributing to the goal of promoting longer and healthier lives for the community. His commitment to synergy is reflected in his extensive publication record in reputable journals. His research interests are centered on harnessing the pharmaceutical potential of modulating critical regulators, such as interleukins and microRNAs. He also specializes in developing new and effective drug delivery formulations for managing inflammation in chronic airway diseases and cancer.

Dr Sachin Kumar Singh, a Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lovely Professional University, India, earned his Master of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical Analysis from J.S.S. College of Pharmacy, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India and earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Karpagam University, Coimbatore, India. He has completed one DST-SERB funded project on development of SNEDDS of Polypeptide-k for treatment of diabetes mellitus. Dr. Singh has published more than 200 research papers with cumulative impact of 400 and co-authored 10 book chapters. He has two granted Indian patents and two granted Australian patents. In January 2020, he received Dr. B.C. Deb memorial award for popularization of science by Indian Science Congress Association at 107th Indian Science Congress held at UAS Bengaluru. He is the first recipient from the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences to receive this award. He is also a recipient of 2014 Bharat Shiksha Ratan Award given by Global Society for Health and Educational Growth, Delhi, India. His core area is improving oral bioavailability of drugs exhibiting poor water solubility characteristics using various formulation approaches including nanotechnology, complexation, solid dispersion, and liquisolid technology.