Tools
4/5/2012
eTOX makes progress on predictive toxicology
IMI project eTOX, coordinated by GRIB (IMIM-UPF) is making progress towards its goal of developing a predictive toxicology system called eTOXsys, which is now at the prototype stage. In a recent article in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the eTOX partners describe eTOXsys as 'a software tool able to provide useful toxicological risk and hazard assessment.' Users will simply need to enter a small amount of information, such as the structure of the compound they are interested in, and the system will use a series of advanced models to deliver information on the likelihood of potential toxicity of the compound. Article reference: Briggs K, Cases M, Heard DJ, Pastor M, Pognan F, Sanz F, Schwab CH, Steger-Hartmann T, Sutter A, Watson DK, Wichard JD. Inroads to Predict in Vivo Toxicology -An Introduction to the eTOX Project. Int J Mol Sci, 2012; 13(3), 3820-3846. PMID 22489185. DOI 10.3390/ijms13033820.
2/5/2012
Identified 115 proteins that would allow designing new generation anti-cancer drugs; The new drugs would be more effective and with fewer side effects.
Researchers from the Chemogenomics Group of GRIB (IMIM/ UPF) have identified 115 proteins in silico (via computer simulation) that could be highly relevant to treat colon-rectal cancer, since they would make it possible to define the strategy to design new generation anti-cancer drugs. According to Jordi Mestres, the coordinator of the Chemogenomics Laboratory of the GRIB “The basis of this strategy is a list of molecules that, experimentally, have been proven to be significantly more toxic for tumour cells than for healthy ones and another list of molecules that are more toxic for healthy cells than for tumour ones. These two lists of molecules are computationally processed with a methodology that allows predicting those proteins for which each molecule will have an affinity, identifying potential biological targets to develop new anti-cancer drugs”. Reference Article: “A Chemocentric Approach to the Identification of Cancer Targets”. Beáta Flachner, Zsolt Lörincz, Angelo Carotti, Orazio Nicolotti, Praveena Kuchipudi, Nikita Remez, Ferran Sanz, József Tóvári, Miklós J. Szabó, Béla Bertók, Sándor Cseh, Jordi Mestres, and György Dormán. PLoS ONE 2012, 7: e0035582. http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035582
27/4/2012
GRIB EXPO, a unique opportunity to bring Biomedical Informatics closer to the clinical sector and to industrial innovation
Last thursday 26 April, saw the conclusion in Barcelona of the first edition of GRIB EXPO, a symposium organised by the Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB - IMIM/ UPF). The aim of the EXPO was to bring Biomedical Informatics closer to the clinical sector and to industrial innovation, with a view to promoting the open exchange of ideas and cooperation. With around a hundred attendees from both the industrial and the clinical sectors and the participation of more than 80 high-level scientific researchers focused on Biomedical Informatics, GRIB EXPO was a unique opportunity to explore how this discipline can offer innovative strategies in both basic and clinical research as well as in industrial innovation, especially as regards the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. Ferran Sanz, Director of GRIB, explained that “the symposium responds to one of the GRIB’s strategic objectives, which is to increase cooperation with the business fabric while initiating an approach to the clinical sector where Biomedical Informatics can offer numerous innovative solutions of huge practical value”. These would include predicting the toxicity of potential new medicines or analysing the huge amount of genetic information produced by advanced sequencing techniques. Dr Andrés Fernández, Director of the Area of Innovation in Biotechnology at Laboratorios Ferrer qualified the event as “an excellent forum to identify new technological approaches that increase the effectiveness of Drug Discovery and that allows making straightforward progress in simulation and virtualization processes. A unique opportunity to explore collaborations between the academic and industrial sectors”.
Thesis of Sonja Althamer, member of the Regulatory Genomics Group of GRIB (IMIM-UPF): "Elucidating Mechanisms of Gene Regulation. Integration of High-Throughput Sequencing Data for Studying the Epigenome"
This Friday, 27th of April, Sonja Althamer will defence her thesis at 15:00 at Xipre Seminar Room of PRBB (C/ Doctor Aiguader, 88).
Come to the GRIB EXPO the 26th of April, 2012
Come to the GRIB EXPO the 26th of April, 2012, a new scientific exhibition on biomedical informatics. You will have the chance to interact with scientist working on computational tools to shape the future of healthcare and drug discovery. The GRIB EXPO is opened to academic and industrial organisations within the PRBB and beyond. It will give you the opportunity to present your know-how to a wide scientific community within and outside PRBB. The GRIB EXPO will take place at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Sala d’exposicions, Ramón Trias Fargas, 25-27. Please confirm your attendance by email to Carina Oliver, coliver@imim.es
Celebrada la V Conferencia Anual de las Plataformas de Investigación Biomédica
Bajo el lema Fomentando la Open Innovation, los más de 230 asistentes que asistieron en Barcelona a la V Conferencia Anual de investigación biomédica, abordaron la necesidad de seguir promoviendo los modelos de cooperación publico-privada basados en el concepto de open innovation en el ámbito de la I+D+i biomédica. Todas las presentaciones y vídeos están disponibles en www.medicamentos-innovadores.org. El GRIB coordina junto con Farmaindustria la Plataforma Española de Medicamentos Innovadores, coorganizadores del evento.
8/3/2012
“Hace falta más cohesión, superar más fronteras”
Nacido en Barcelona en 1951, Ferran Sanz es el coordinador del GRIB y catedrático del Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra (UPF). En esta entrevista al diario digital El Librepensador Ferran Sanz nos explica cómo ha llegado donde está ahora.
Open PHACTS tool shows early promise
A prototype of a novel data mining tool developed by IMI project Open PHACTS has proven its worth, identifying relevant information in just seconds, while a traditional human search took days. Researchers of different laboratories of GRIB (Computer Assisted Drug Design, Chemogenomics and Integrative Bioinformatics) are participants of this project. Open PHACTS is using semantic web technology to develop a tool called the Open Pharmacological Space (OPS).‘The OPS system not only correctly identified all compounds, it also found one additional drug, which was later on confirmed in a manual search,’ commented Open PHACTS academic coordinator, Gerhard Ecker of the University of Vienna. The team hopes to have a more advanced version ready for the full consortium to test by March.
21/2/2012
Ignasi Buch guanya el VIII Premi Joan Oró en la modalitat multimèdia
Proteïnes protagonistes és el títol de l'audiovisual del qual Ignasi Buch, doctorand del Programa de Recerca en Informàtica Biomèdica (GRIB, UPF-IMIM), n'és el seu director, guionista i il·lustrador, que ha guanyat la vuitena edició del Premi Joan Oró a la divulgació de la recerca científica en la modalitat multimèdia. La realització i el grafisme ha anat a càrrec d'Inés Navarro, col·laboradora de l 'Observatori de la Comunicació Científica de la UPF. Proteïnes protagonistes ens explica el paper de les proteïnes dins de qualsevol ésser viu així com també els fonaments de la dinàmica molecular, una nova tècnica per investigar-les mitjançant l'observació dels moviments dels àtoms que les composen. Ignasi Buch és biotecnòleg per la UAB i màster en Bioinformàtica pel Departament de Ciències de la Salut i de la Vida de la UPF. Actualment està fent el seu doctorat sobre aquest mateix tema al Laboratori de Bioquímica i Biofísica Computacional (LBBC) al Programa de Recerca en Informàtica Biomèdica (GRIB). El Premi Joan Oró a la divulgació de la recerca científica, que té modalitat escrita i multimèdia, vol incentivar en el joves investigadors la capacitat per comunicar el contingut i el valor de la seva recerca científica i facilitar la publicació del seu treball de divulgació als mitjans de comunicació.
19/1/2012
Conferencia anual de las Plataformas de Investigación Biomédica
Las Plataformas Tecnológicas de Medicamentos Innovadores, Nanomedicina, Tecnología Sanitaria y Mercados Biotecnológicos, coordinadas por su respectivas patronales, Farmaindustria, Fenin y Asebio, organizan en Barcelona los próximos días 14 y 15 de febrero, la V Conferencia Anual de las Plataformas de Investigación Biomédica con el objetivo de fomentar la Open Innovation. A través de diferentes sesiones se presentarán un amplio abanico de recientes iniciativas y proyectos puestos en marcha, que reflejan los cambios que se están produciendo en el nuevo modelo de I+D+i biomédica y que implican la necesidad de una mayor colaboración entre todos los stakeholders público-privados. Asimismo, se podrán conocer las novedades que en el marco europeo se están produciendo en el ámbito de las diferentes plataformas. El boletín de inscripción está disponible en www.medicamentos-innovadores.org.
