The Amyloid and Cell Division Laboratory is mainly focused on the Cyclin dependant kinases (CDKs) which directly regulate the cell division cycle phases. They also play a role in neuronal cells and thymocytes, in the control of transcription and apoptosis. Intensive screening in the last few years has lead us to identify series of chemical inhibitors of CDKs. Some of these compounds display a high selectivity and efficiency (IC₅₀ < 5 nM). Many have been co-crystallised with CDK2 and their atomic interactions with the kinase have been analysed in detail: all are located in the ATP-binding pocket of the enzyme. These inhibitors are anti-proliferative, they arrest cells in G1 and in G2/M. Furthermore they facilitate or even trigger apoptosis in proliferating cells. In contrast, they protect neuronal cells and thymocytes from apoptosis. The potential use of these inhibitors is being extensively evaluated for cancer chemotherapy (clinical trials, phase I and II) but also in other fields: cardiovascular (restenosis, tumoral angiogenesis, atherosclerosis), nephrology (glomerulonephritis), parasitology (unicellular parasites such as Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Toxoplasma, ...etc.), neurology (Alzheimer's disease), viral infections (cytomegalovirus, H.I.V., herpes). We anticipate the discovery of novel selective and powerful inhibitors in the near future and hope for their efficient applications in various human pathologies. In addition, we also developped yeast based screening assays to isolate antiprion drugs.