[3] Research at BRIMR focuses on the structure and regulation of protein kinases, their downstream signaling pathways, and therapeutic drugs that inhibit these enzymes.

[5] The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of about 50 protein kinase inhibitors for the treatment of several cancers including those of breast, kidney, and lung and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

An important component of the Institute's fundamental research involves the study of the nature of the interaction of these anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents with their target protein kinase enzyme.

Institute studies are based upon the X-ray crystallographic results that are in the public domain as well as in-house computer-generated models of drugs binding to their targets.

However, the Institute uses results from the research areas of biochemistry and molecular, chemical, structural and cancer biology in an effort to understand the mechanisms of action of protein kinase inhibitors and the aberrations that result in neoplastic growth.