American Diabetes Association and Entelos Announce In Silico Research Funding Opportunity
January 17, 2007
Digg This! | Send to Newsvine | Add to del.icio.usDiabetes Research Center to Apply Biosimulation to Support Type 1 Diabetes Research
January 17, 2007 (ADA) -- The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Entelos, Inc. (LSE: ENTL) announced today a funding opportunity to support basic research through the Diabetes Research Center (DRC), a joint initiative of the ADA and Entelos to enhance the understanding of diabetes and its treatment. Awardees will have access to the DRC's in silico modeling and biosimulation capabilities, allowing them an unparalleled ability to investigate the onset, progression, and treatment of diabetes.
The ADA and Entelos collaborated to develop the type 1dDiabetes PhysioLab® platform, a computer-based mathematical model of the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse, the primary animal model used to study type 1 diabetes. Research using the platform allows scientists to explore, for example, (1) the contribution of key cell types to disease pathogenesis and prevention, (2) the time- and dose-dependent effects of treatments on disease prevention or remission, and (3) different experimental approaches to identify the most productive research opportunities.
"The ADA is committed to finding new treatments and, ultimately, a cure for diabetes, in particular, type 1 diabetes, which primarily affects children and young adults," said Richard Kahn, Ph.D., chief scientific and medical officer, American Diabetes Association. "This funding opportunity achieves a major goal of the ADA, namely, to apply cutting-edge science to basic diabetes research. By combining the DRC's capabilities with the experimental capabilities of academic researchers, we hope that this initiative will accelerate understanding of the disease."
"With the availability of this research platform, academic researchers will for the first time be able to combine the benefits of in silico research with their own laboratory investigations," added Mikhail Gishizky, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Entelos. "In fact, this combined approach has already uncovered insights regarding the pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes. Ultimately, this information will improve the rationale for taking novel interventions into humans."
The DRC is soliciting letters of intent (LOI) for in silico research projects to be conducted in the second half of 2007. LOI's will be reviewed by an ADA-sponsored scientific review committee. Applicable projects will be selected, and researchers will be invited to develop a detailed research plan in collaboration with DRC staff. The review committee will then award research grants.
Details regarding the DRC, the type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab platform, and how to respond to this solicitation can be found here.
Posted by dlife at January 17, 2007 09:28 AM