Dr Scott Guimond
Heparin and its derivatives are the most widely used anticoagulant drug in the world. But heparin can also change the activity of many proteins, many involved in angiogenesis in wound healing and pathology.
Our work takes advantage of the diversity of structure within heparin and heparin-like molecules to develop potential therapeutics to improve wound healing and reduce blood vessel formation in diseases such as cancer. We use natural and synthetic heparins of different structures to target specific proteins that regulate new blood vessel formation. By using different types of heparin we can also eliminate unwanted side effects to target only the processes in which we are interested