Animal Models and Drug Discovery

描述(由申请人提供)：生物医学研究和后期药物发现的关键挑战之一是缺乏适当的人类疾病临床前动物模型。动物模型和药物发现会议将由伦敦帝国理工学院、伦敦国王学院和纽约科学院(NYAS)于2011年9月15日至16日在纽约NYAS会议中心联合举办，会议将严格审查动物模型在药物发现中的传统作用，这些模型如何最有效地为转化医学做出贡献，提高模型对人类药效预测能力所需的变化，以及在转化生物医学研究中进一步完善、减少和取代动物模型的方法。 多学科科学组织委员会由来自不同领域的经验丰富的科学研究人员和临床医生组成，他们使用临床前动物模型进行治疗开发，包括这项赠款的PI：医学和药理学教授加勒特·A·菲茨杰拉德、转化医学和治疗学麦克尼尔教授、转化学研究副院长、药理学系主任、宾夕法尼亚大学转化医学和治疗学研究所所长。为期两天的课程预计将吸引多达250人参加，涉及广泛的医学和健康领域，鉴于最近在生物成像、生物模拟和生物信息学方面广泛适用的新技术的爆炸性增长，转基因动物和新兴的非啮齿动物模型的产生，以及胚胎干细胞、患者特有的诱导多能干细胞和人性化动物模型的使用，这一计划将特别及时和令人兴奋。 在主题上，会议目标与NCRR的使命很好地结合在一起，为临床和翻译研究人员提供将基本发现转化为改善人类健康所需的培训和工具。该项目还将展示作为疾病诊断、治疗和预防基础的研究工具和技术，因此也符合NIGMS的使命。 讲座、研讨会、互动讨论、网络休息以及会议招待会和晚宴将为多学科参与者之间的互动提供一个中立的论坛，否则他们可能不会在单一的科学会议上进行互动，并确保最近改进的具有良好预测有效性的临床前动物模型随时可用于制药业和临床研究人员，以帮助尽快发现和开发新的疾病治疗方法。招贴会和旅行奖励将鼓励初级/少数群体调查员和受训人员参与。我们期望这次会议产生的讨论及其通过开放获取的在线多媒体报告传播的讨论最终将促进在诊断、管理和治疗多种人类疾病方面的进步。 公共卫生相关性(由申请者提供)：这个由伦敦帝国理工学院、伦敦国王学院和纽约科学院联合举办的为期两天的科学会议将提供一个中立的论坛，以批判性地研究临床前动物模型在药物发现中的传统作用，这些模型如何最有效地促进转化医学和药物发现，提高各种模型对人类药效预测能力所需的变化，以及如何进一步改进、减少和取代生物医学研究中的动物模型。通过召集多学科的临床和基础科学研究人员，我们希望确定共同的障碍和前进的道路，以改进模型系统，以评估代谢和心血管疾病、炎症和疼痛等领域的治疗效果。最近在生物成像、生物模拟、生物信息学、转基因动物的产生和表型筛选以及新兴的非啮齿动物模型、胚胎干细胞的使用、患者特有的诱导多能干细胞和人源化动物模型等方面广泛应用的新技术的会议将确保制药行业和临床研究人员随时可以获得从改进的临床前动物模型获得的具有良好预测有效性的基础科学知识的最新进展，从而帮助尽快发现和开发新的疾病治疗方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the key challenges in biomedical research and late-stage drug discovery is the lack of appropriate pre-clinical animal models of human disease. The conference Animal Models and Drug Discovery will be jointly presented by Imperial College London, King's College London, and the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) at the NYAS Conference Center in New York on September 15-16, 2011, and will critically examine the traditional role of animal models in drug discovery, how these models most effectively contribute to translational medicine, changes needed to increase the predictive power of models for drug efficacy in humans, and ways in which to further refine, reduce, and replace animal models in translational biomedical research. The multidisciplinary scientific organizing committee comprises experienced scientific researchers and clinicians from diverse fields that employ pre-clinical animal models for therapeutic development, including the PI for this grant: Garret A. FitzGerald, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; McNeil Professor in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics; Associate Dean for Translational Research; Chair, Department of Pharmacology; Director, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, The University of Pennsylvania. The 2-day program, anticipated to attract up to 250 attendees across a wide span of medicine and health, will be especially timely and exciting given the recent explosion of broadly applicable new technologies in bioimaging, biosimulation, and bioinformatics; the generation of genetically modified animals and emerging non-rodent models; and the use of embryonic stem cells, patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, and humanized animal models. Thematically, the conference goals align well with NCRR's mission to provide clinical and translational researchers with the training and tools they need to transform basic discoveries into improved human health. This program will also showcase research tools and techniques that serve as the foundation for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, thus also fitting the mission of NIGMS. Lectures, workshops, interactive discussions, networking breaks, and a conference reception and dinner will provide a neutral forum for interaction among multidisciplinary participants who may not otherwise interact at a single scientific meeting and ensure that recent improved pre-clinical animal models with good predictive validity readily become available to the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers so as to aid the discovery and development of new disease treatments as quickly as possible. Poster sessions and travel awards will encourage participation of junior/minority investigators and trainees. We expect that the discussions originating from the conference and their dissemination via an open access online multimedia report will ultimately foster advancement in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of a multitude of human diseases. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by applicant): This 2-day scientific conference, jointly presented by Imperial College London, King's College London, and the New York Academy of Sciences, will provide a neutral forum to critically examine the traditional role of pre-clinical animal models in drug discovery, how these models most effectively contribute to translational medicine and drug discovery, changes needed to increase the predictive power of various models for drug efficacy in humans, and ways in which to further refine, reduce, and replace animal models in biomedical research. By convening multi-disciplinary clinical and basic science investigators we hope to identify common hurdles and pathways forward to improving model systems for the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy in the areas of metabolic and cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and pain, among others. Sessions on the recent explosion of broadly applicable new technologies in bioimaging, biosimulation, bioinformatics, generating genetically modified animals and phenotype screening along with emerging non- rodent models, the use of embryonic stem cells, patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, and humanized animal models will ensure that recent advances in basic science knowledge gained from improved pre- clinical animal models with good predictive validity readily become available to the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers so as to aid the discovery and development of new disease treatments as quickly as possible.