"Within the last years, the ribonucleoprotein telomerase has emerged as an attractive, yet elusive, drug target for the treatment of cancer and several age-related diseases. This is because it has been estimated that telomerase is abnormally up-regulated in around 90% of human tumors. However, despite the current efforts to exploit the therapeutic potential of telomerase, there is still a need for the development of alternative chemical strategies that may unravel novel options for efficient therapeutic intervention, especially at a time when our understanding of many aspects of telomerase biology is ever increasing. The proposed research aims at the use of new molecular strategies for the discovery of efficient telomerase inhibitors based on oligonucleotide conjugates. The project will be based on an interfaced, multidisciplinary approach characteristic of the field of Chemical Biology. It will entail a combination of different techniques, including organic synthesis, coordination and nucleoside chemistry, spectroscopy, biochemistry, and molecular and cellular biology."