Today Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology company developing the end-to-end drug discovery pipeline utilizing the next generation artificial intelligence, and the Scheibye-Knudsen Lab, University of Copenhagen, announce the presentation of Cornelis F. Calkhoven, Ph.D., Professor at the University Medical Center of the University of Groningen and principal investigator at the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA), at the 6th Ageing Research, Drug Discovery, and AI Forum during the Basel Life Congress, September 10-12, 2019, Basel, Switzerland.
Ageing is associated with physical decline and the development of age-related diseases such as metabolic disorders and cancer. Few conditions are known that attenuate the adverse effects of ageing, including calorie restriction (CR) and reduced signalling through the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway. Synthesis of the metabolic transcription factor C/EBPβ-LIP is stimulated by mTORC1, which critically depends on a short upstream open reading frame (uORF) in the Cebpb-mRNA. Our studies demonstrate a crucial role of C/EBPβ in the aging process and suggest that restriction of LIP expression sustains health and fitness during ageing. The presentation will also give insights to the therapeutic strategies inhibiting the translation into the LIP isoform that may offer new possibilities to treat age-related diseases and to prolong healthspan.
"The C/EBPβ transcription factors are involved in metabolic gene regulation, and health and lifespan regulation. The translation of the Cebpb-mRNA into the C/EBPβ-LIP protein isoform is under control of mTORC1. Suppression of C/EBPβ-LIP mediates part of the beneficial effects of reduced mTORC1-signaling by calorie /dietary restriction or pharmacological inhibition. Therefore, drug-discovery in inhibiting C/EBPβ-LIP expression may result in new strategies for increasing health in the elderly and treatment of obesity and/or cancer," said Professor Calkhoven, the European Research Institute on the Biology of Aging (ERIBA).
"We are very excited that Professor Cornelis Calkhoven from the European Research Institute on the Biology of Aging (ERIBA) has decided to visit our conference this year in Basel. Professor Calkhoven has contributed strongly to our understanding of cellular metabolism on aging. Recently, his research group unraveled the age-delaying effect of the functional loss of the mTOR regulated transcription factor C/EBPβ. Their results may open a new avenue to modulate one of the key modulator pathways of aging. We are therefore extremely thrilled to welcome Professor Calkhoven in Basel and are looking forward to his fascinating talk," said Dr. Daniela Bakula, University of Copenhagen.
"Over the last 5 years, the "Ageing & Drug Discovery" and "AI for Healthcare" forums have been leading events at Basel Life, attracting hundreds of delegates from over 50 countries. This year, we are combining the 2 platforms into a 3 day-event titled "the 6th Ageing, AI and Drug Discovery Forum" to explore the convergence of these 2 cutting edge disciplines. Under the program leadership of Professor Morten Scheibye-Knudsen and Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, with distinguished scientists and industry experts in the field, we look forward to exploring breakthroughs for this great healthcare need for the planet," said Dr. Bhupinder Bhullar, Chair, Innovation Forum program committee, Basel Life 2019.
"The 6th annual Ageing Research, Drug Discovery, and AI Forum at Basel Life will have a fresh program featuring some of the most prominent scientists and industry players in ageing and longevity research covering the theory, applications and convergence of these three exciting areas," said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., Founder, and CEO of Insilico Medicine, Inc.
The 6th Ageing Research for Drug Discovery Forum Basel will bring together leaders in the ageing, longevity, and drug discovery field, to describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of ageing and the search for interventions. Furthermore, the forum will include opinion leaders in AI to discuss the latest advances of this technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and how this can be applied to interventions. This event intends to bridge academic and commercial research and foster collaborations that will result in practical solutions to one of humanity's most challenging problems: ageing. The Forum will be held in Basel, Switzerland, September 10-12, 2019.
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For further information, images or interviews, please contact: Ola Popova ola@~@pharma.ai
About Cornelis Calkhoven
Cornelis Calkhoven is a professor for gene regulation in ageing and age-related diseases at the University Medical Center of the University of Groningen and principal investigator at the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA). He studied biology and chemistry at the University of Groningen, where he also received his PhD-degree in 1996. As a Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellow, he then moved to the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, where in 2000 he was rewarded with a Helmholtz fellowship to start his own research group. At the MDC he identified factors and mRNA-regulatory elements that control translation of key factors in cellular differentiation and cancer. In 2005 he moved to the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena where he established a research program to study common regulatory mechanisms in ageing, metabolism and cancer. The main focus of the Calkhoven laboratory is understanding the mechanisms of gene-regulation that are under control of the nutrient and energy sensitive mTORC1 signaling pathway and its involvement in health- and lifespan determination.
