AAPS – Bay Area Discussion Group
A meeting place for pharmaceutical scientists
Nov. 21st, 2019 6 – 8:30 pm
Crowne Plaza Foster City-San Mateo
1221 Chess Drive Foster City, CA 94404
Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease – Therapeutic Opportunities
Jeyanthi Ramasubbu (Advisor for ReechPharm)
The Best Model of a Cat Is a Cat
Synthetic biology and data sciences to navigate biological complexity
Sridhar Govindarajan (Co-Founder/CIO – ATUM)
Contacts:
Chair Edward Yost Email: edwardy@gene.com Tel: 650-467-1432
Website: http://www.aaps-badg.org
Registration & Networking: 6:00 to 6:40 pm Dinner: 6:40 pm Speakers: 7 to 8:30 pm
Registration: Online at http://aaps-badg.org/registration/ Last Date for Early Registration: November 19th, 2019 Working professionals/consultants: $50 Students/Unemployed/Retired: $20 Registration includes a three course dinner and a drink.
Sponsorship: Tier 1 ($800); Tier 2 ($500) To become a sponsor, please contact one of the committee members.
Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease – Therapeutic Opportunities Jeyanthi Ramasubbu, PhD
Abstract Aberrant protein processing is an underlying mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Dementia and many more. Protein quality control, which includes proper expression, folding, transport and clearance is critical for cellular function and organismal health. When cell defense fails and proteostasis malfunctions, is it doom time for healthy cells? Protein misfolding has long been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, but interestingly, it’s also a common feature in some chronic metabolic and oncogenic diseases such as type II diabetes, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and certain cancers. Aging and longevity are invariably tied to changes in protein management systems such as chaperones and clearance networks. How are these diverse chronic diseases as well as aging and health correlated? Are alterations in protein quality control a cause or consequence of chronic disease? Can tweaking protein homeostasis machinery rescue dysfunctional cells in chronic diseases and restore good health? The speaker will discuss intriguing correlations between alterations in protein homeostasis and chronic diseases and potential therapeutic opportunities.
Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease – Therapeutic Opportunities Jeyanthi Ramasubbu, PhD
Speaker Bio Jeyanthi Ramasubbu has more than 20 years of scientific and leadership experience in drug discovery, development and drug delivery. Jeyanthi joined the founding team at ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech based in Boston and helped grow the organization as the world’s largest biotech focused on ALS research. As Associate Director, Pharmacology, she was a key player in establishing the Discovery Research Program and developing guidelines for robust screening of drugs in the SOD1 transgenic mouse. Jeyanthi and her peers identified key confounding variables that impacted ALS mouse studies and published guidelines for rigorous study design in preclinical research. Jeyanthi led numerous scientific collaborations with academia and industry, both in the US and globally, to test potential ALS therapeutics. She was selected as a Finalist for the ‘Academic Scientist of the Year Award” by Informa Sciences, Boston for outstanding contribution to pharmaceutical research. Her interest in the present topic was sparked when she was studying mutant SOD1 aggregation in ALS. That curiosity also led her to organize an AAPS National Biotechnology Conference Workshop on “Protein Aggregation in Therapeutics and Disease” bringing together experts from both academia and industry.
Prior to pivoting to drug discovery, she served as Senior Scientist in multiple biotech firms developing biodegradable drug delivery systems. She holds patents on design of novel, programmable delivery systems for peptides and proteins. Jeyanthi has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Madras and obtained post-doctoral training with Prof. Patrick DeLuca, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky. Her interests include understanding the role of proteome and proteostasis in health and disease and developing patient-centric solutions to slow, prevent or stop chronic diseases.
Jeyanthi is currently an Advisor for ReechPharma, a Custom Formulation and Drug Delivery company based in Newark, CA. She also serves as an Advisor for the Stanford SPARK Translational Research Program.
The Best Model of a Cat Is a Cat Sridhar Govindarajan, PhD
Abstract Model systems and surrogate measurements are common tools in understanding and engineering biological systems. But biology is complicated. Engineering proteins, pathways and organisms using model systems and surrogate assays do not work in most cases. Advent of synthetic biology and data sciences have helped us in navigate this complexity and focus on systems close to reality. At Atum, we combine synthetic biology with machine learning tools to engineer DNA and proteins for commercial applications by focusing and optimizing for target functions and not on surrogate high throughput screening that usually do not reflect real systems. Here we present a few examples of Atum’s GPS technologies to make a case for the next generation of protein engineering using tools from the 21st century.
Speaker Bio As ATUM’s Co-founder and CIO, Dr. Sridhar Govindarajan leads the company’s automation and protein engineering efforts. He has more than 25 years of scientific computing experience. Prior to his current position, Govindarajan led the computational research in optimizing directed evolution technologies at Maxygen. Dr. Govindarajan holds an undergraduate degree from IIT Bombay, India and received his PhD in Computational Chemistry/Biophysics from the University of Michigan.
Sponsor Presentation – Atlas Genomics
Atlas Genomics is a CLIA-certified, CRO (contract research organization) founded in 2014 and located in Seattle, Washington. We provide GLP compliant, preclinical services to the pharmaceutical industry. We offer assays regarding toxicology, pharmacology, pathology, biomarker discovery, method/assay development & validation. Our technologies include but are not limited to RNA and protein expression analysis through single and multiplex assays, qPCR, and ELISA. Our project turnaround times coupled with high quality data, are a cornerstone of our laboratory.
“Atlas Genomics has provided extraordinary quality, service and turnaround times to extend and complement our own internal resources. Partnering with them is seamless and they have become an extension of our team. Their attention to detail and ability to collaborate allows us the freedom to expand our capabilities and deliver high quality results under very difficult time pressures.” – ‘Top 10 Pharma Company Head of Non Clinical Services’
Event Information
Event Topic:
Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease – Therapeutic Opportunities & The Best Model of a Cat Is a Cat
Event Description:
Date/Time:
Date(s) - 11/21/19
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Event Location:
NOVA - 505 West Olive Ave, Sunnyvale- Suite 799:
Event Details
Event Type