Presentations (Missouri Regional Life Sciences Summit 2010)
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This collection contains the presentations made during the Missouri Regional Life Sciences Summit 2010. Please enter text in the search box above or click on one of the browse options to explore this collection.
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Item Integrating academic research, clinical research and private practice: a unique opportunity for translational medicine(2010-03) Sabates, Nelson R.; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)Degeneration or acute damage of nerve cells in the retina due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma are the major causes of visual loss and blindness in the United States and worldwide. The determination of the function and effectiveness of new neuroprotective drugs and surgical treatment options has the potential to produce therapy approaches for these chronic degenerative diseases of the eye that focuses on the nerve cells of the retina and that has the potential to be both preventative and therapeutic in nature. With the formation of the new interdisciplinary Vision Research Center Kansas City is well on its way to becoming a national center for eye research where these ocular diseases and others are being researched to develop new therapy approaches urgently needed by physicians in the US and worldwide, transferring basic science findings seamlessly into practical use with patients.Item The “Male Pill”: The Learning Curve from Basic Science to the Drug Development Pipeline and the Strength of Interdisciplinary Collaboration(2010-03) Tash, Joseph S.; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)Nearly five decades have elapsed since the development of the female contraceptive hormone pill. During this time numerous alternative female contraceptive methods have also gained acceptance, however “the pill” and other hormone-based female contraceptive methods remain the most widely used. There are many couples where the female cannot use existing methods. For the male, effective contraceptive methods are limited to condoms and vasectomy. NIH, WHO, and the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine have all stressed the need to develop new non-hormonal contraceptive methods. In the US, 30% of men use these male methods, so there is already a significant acceptance of male alternatives for actively participating in family planning. My basic research in male reproductive biology has always focused on identifying regulators of sperm or testis function that could be employed to develop a male contraceptive.Item In silico Compound Screening for Drug Discovery in the “Cloud”(2010-03) Wyckoff, Gerald J.; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)The need to identify new small molecules and novel binding partners for known bioactive sites remains a constant in drug development. We are aiding VaSSA Informatics in creating informatics methods used to identify functionally similar compounds ab initio, regardless of structural concerns. To achieve this goal, we implemented an information content algorithm as the primary screening parameter. The results of ChemVaSSA's validation cycle suggest that it can, in fact, detect functionally similar molecules that interact with known bioactive sites ab initio. Validation of ChemVaSSA's results was performed using in silico modeling. First, we developed a ligand library that contained the information content signature of 600,000 ligand/compound complexes for which structure was available. We then utilized atorvastatin (Lipitor) as a test compound to search for molecules with similar functional roles. In addition to returning structurally expected results (other statins), we identified several compounds that, via modeling, appear to bind Hmg-CoA reductase at the site of Lipitor binding but that are NOT structurally similar to Lipitor or other statins. We are structuring this screening to utilize the Amazon EC2 resource and show the cost model associated with this.Item Organ printing: a novel tissue engineering paradigm(2010) Forgács, Gabor, 1949-; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)Engineering new tissues, ideally from the patient's own body cells to prevent rejection by the immune system, is a rapidly growing field that rests on three pillars: cells, supporting structures (or scaffold) and stimulating biological environment. However the use of scaffolds has been associated with chronic inflammation and impaired tissue-remodeling and maturation. We introduce a novel automated rapid prototyping method (bioprinting) that allows engineering three-dimensional custom-shaped tissue and organ modules without the use of any scaffold, thus making the final construct fully biological, as well as structurally and functionally closer to native tissues. Conveniently prepared bio-ink units (multicellular spheroids or cylinders composed of single or several cell types) are delivered into the bio-paper (a hydrogel support material) by a special-purpose bio-printer. The delivery of the discrete bio-ink units is controlled by architectural software consistent with the geometry and composition of the desired organ module. Structure formation takes place by the post-printing fusion of the discrete units. We demonstrate the technology by detailing the construction of blood vessel substitutes. We also discuss undergoing translational and commercialization efforts with the help of our seed-stage company, Organovo, Inc., as well as the market opportunities afforded by the technology.Item Commercialization of novel biomarkers of male fertility in humans and farm animals(2010-03) Sutovsky, Peter; University of Missouri (System); Missouri Life Sciences Summit (2010: University of Missouri--Kansas City)Each year, US infertility clinics treat 135,000 couples who fail to conceive naturally. Up to 40% of these infertility cases can be attributed to male infertility stemming from poor sperm quality. An additional 20% of couples present at the clinic with idiopathic, unexplained infertility, some of which is in fact hidden, misdiagnosed male infertility. Due to a paucity of accurate diagnostic methods and efficient treatments, the success rate of assisted fertilization, measured by live births, stagnates around the disappointing 35% margin. Many parallels exist between human male infertility and male reproductive performance in farm animals, where the estimated losses from inferior reproductive performance amount to millions of dollars annually, according to USDA.