Basic Bioinformatics QSAR Study

Success in gene and cell therapy has increased demand for plasmid DNA used to produce viral vectors, both in quantities for commercial products as well as the breadth of different vectors for the expanding number of programs in development.

Implementation of biobanking best practices and analytical platform standardization are two important components for any data generation associated with state of the art biobanks that support precision medicine applications. Sample collection, pre analytical variables, controlled environment storage and sample processing can often have a large impact on the quality of biomaterials. This roundtable will describe how to standardize biobanking efforts in a manner commensurate with both academic and industrial partnerships. Data will be presented on the governance of biosample collections, standardization efforts, and quality control harmonization for biosamples as well as global best practices for the regulatory oversight of national and commercial biobank resources. Finally, a review of several international programs will illustrate how collaborative efforts are helping advance integrated biobanking precision medicine across many research and clinical areas.

Connective tissue-specific stem and progenitor cells (also known asa mesenchymal stormal/stem cells or MSCs) have been the subject of clinical testing for various conditions, but the outcomes of advanced clinical trials have fallen short of expectations raised by encouraging pre-clinical animal data in a wide array of disease models.

Dr. Katalin Karikó will talk about her pioneering research in mRNA vaccine technology. The Hungarian-born biochemist’s discoveries provided scientists with the tools necessary to develop mRNA vaccines for COVID-19. For her entire career, Dr. Kariko has focused on messenger RNA, or mRNA, the genetic script that carries DNA instructions to each cell’s protein-making machinery. She was convinced mRNA could be used to instruct cells to make their own medicines, including vaccines.