{"id":4482,"date":"2024-12-12T10:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-12T15:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/news-and-events\/connect-pharma-journee-pitch\/"},"modified":"2024-12-12T14:55:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:55:20","slug":"connect-pharma-journee-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/news-and-events\/connect-pharma-journee-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for Ideas: AI-assisted protein design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4879d7211fcb74c91e3e36cf8d9f0ae4\"><strong><strong>Call for Ideas: AI-assisted protein design<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CQDM is pleased to launch a call for ideas for our upcoming <strong>CQDM Connect-Pharma: Pitch Day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are searching for world-class research on AI-assisted protein design to present to domain experts from leading global pharmaceutical organizations on <strong>March 5, 2025.<\/strong><br><br>Our objective is to bring ground-breaking, innovative Canadian research to CQDM\u2019s pharmaceutical members and facilitate interactions between our pharma members and the Canadian ecosystem. Collaborative projects developed with a CQDM pharmaceutical member are eligible to obtain funding via CQDM\u2019s Quantum Leap program.<br><br>We invite passionate Canadian researchers and visionary teams to submit innovative ideas that have the potential to transform the landscape of medicine and improve patient outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-beed2e01d4a4d8df4f9e90ba94b8d705\"><strong>Scope and Objectives:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-accent-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ec1d4b4fd895c0703c0c7807dfe740d1 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>***This call is for AI-assisted protein design and as such submission specific to AI for small molecule design, optimization etc. are out of scope.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Protein Therapeutic Optimization:<\/strong> Projects aimed at optimizing therapeutic proteins for increased efficacy, reduced immunogenicity, and enhanced stability.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Antigen Optimization:<\/strong> Projects aimed at optimizing antigens for increased vaccine efficacy, reflect the appropriate Ag structure, increased immunogenicity, and enhanced stability.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>De Novo Protein Design:<\/strong> AI-driven creation of entirely new proteins with specific therapeutic functions.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Specific capabilities of interest could include ideas related to biocatalysis.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI for Antibody Engineering:<\/strong> Projects focused on AI methods for designing monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, or single-domain antibody (sdAb) with improved binding affinity and specificity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Specific capabilities of interest could include ideas related to multiparametric antibody optimization and de novo antibody design<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enzyme Therapeutics:<\/strong> Designing enzymes for metabolic disorders, rare diseases, or as tools in drug synthesis.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Specific capabilities of interest could include ideas related to optimization of catalytic function and prediction of substrate specificity (predicting the substrate potential for a given molecule\/protein sequence pair).<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Innovative Algorithms:<\/strong> Projects proposing novel AI methods for protein structure prediction, stability enhancement, or functional optimization.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Specific capabilities of interest could include ideas related to protein-protein interaction prediction and protein function prediction (the latter primarily inspired by catalysis).<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multimodal AI Approaches:<\/strong> Integration of AI with other computational tools like molecular dynamics or quantum chemistry for enhanced protein design.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reverse Vaccinology Approaches:<\/strong> Projects based on infectious disease convalescents or protected subject\u2019s antibody or TCR sequences to design better vaccine antigens.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a8c59cdd2d7b95f58d6716e8836fbed8\"><strong>Technical and Methodological Focus:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Data-Driven Insights:<\/strong> Use of high-quality datasets (e.g., protein-protein interaction data, structural databases, biocatalytic data) to train AI models.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI Integration with Experimental Workflows: <\/strong>Proposals combining computational predictions with experimental validation (e.g., high-throughput screening or structural biology techniques).<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improved Predictive Models: <\/strong>Developing AI tools for predicting protein-small molecule interactions, binding affinities, or therapeutic windows.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Automation in Protein Design:<\/strong> AI for streamlining iterative design processes, such as directed evolution or rational engineering.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Explainable AI:<\/strong> Emphasis on interpretability to understand the molecular basis of designed proteins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-731c12af7c8cf43844c47c850e1be041\"><strong>Industry and Therapeutic Impact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Therapeutic Areas:<\/strong> Projects addressing high-priority diseases like cancer, autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, or neurodegenerative conditions.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Faster Drug Development:<\/strong> AI tools to reduce timelines in preclinical development.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u2022 Specific capabilities of interest could include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>enhancing protein engineering efficiency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>reducing the number of iterative protein engineering\/directed evolution cycles.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cost Reduction:<\/strong> Solutions that lower the costs associated with drug discovery and development, particularly for biologics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-deep-blue-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-deep-blue-background-color has-background\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d65296cfefaea1bddae84056889463c8 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Process :<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">: All submitted projects will be shared with CQDM\u2019s pharmaceutical members for review and ranking. Top ranked projects will be selected to present to CQDM&#8217;s global pharmaceutical members at a CQDM Connect-Pharma: Pitch Day on <strong>March 5, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-deep-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ae963ef0a8356e24760b1bccce6b775c wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Who can apply:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Canadian academic institutions, biotech companies, and research organizations are eligible to apply. Collaborative projects that involve partnerships between academia and industry are also encouraged. We welcome multidisciplinary teams that can bring diverse expertise to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-deep-blue-color has-grey-100-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-e53fbce57973833da11d1ddb51405a0a wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Deadline and Submission:&nbsp;<\/strong>Submission deadline is&nbsp;<strong>February 5, 2025<\/strong>&nbsp;please&nbsp;submit&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:appliquez-apply@cqdm.org\">appliquez-apply@cqdm.org<\/a>. Detailed guidelines and instructions for proposal submission and the selection form are available here, via&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Submission_Form_CQDM_AI-protein-design.docx\">The Submission Form CQDM<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information, please contact: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simon Fournier, CQDM&nbsp;:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:sfournier@cqdm.org\">sfournier@cqdm.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/simon-fournier.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-303\" style=\"width:207px;height:auto\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/simon-fournier.jpg 400w, https:\/\/cqdm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/simon-fournier-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cqdm.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/simon-fournier-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Call for Ideas: AI-assisted protein design CQDM is pleased to launch a call for ideas for our upcoming CQDM Connect-Pharma: Pitch Day. We are searching for world-class research on AI-assisted protein design to present to domain experts from leading global pharmaceutical organizations on March 5, 2025.Our objective is to bring ground-breaking, innovative Canadian research to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-our-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4482"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5469,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4482\/revisions\/5469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cqdm.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}