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  • COMSTECH Webinar; Co-Combustion of Coal and Biomass for Clean Electricity Generation

    COMSTECH Webinar
    Co-Combustion of Coal and Biomass for Clean Electricity Generation

    Date: Friday, 11th August 2023
    Time: 03:00 pm (Pakistan Standard Time)
    Online participation only.

    Flyer attached,

    Speaker/Convener
    Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir
    Chairperson
    Punjab Higher Education Commission

    Speakers Profile:

    Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir did his BSC Chemical Engineering and MSC Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Engineering & technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore. He won gold medal by securing first position in MSc Chemical Engineering. He has 10 years of industrial experience on his credit. He obtained outstanding performance award from Punjab University in 2005. He did his PhD from University of Leeds, UK. His area of research in Biomass-Coal Co-Combustion and his research work has been published in international and national journals of high impact factor.

    He worked as controller Examination, University of the Punjab from 2014 to 2018. He served as Director Centre for Coal Technology, University of the Punjab form 2011-2018. He secured funding of around Rs.2.0 billion in the projects and launched many academic programs including those that were not being taught in the country. He transformed centre for coal technology into Institute of Energy and Environmental Engineering in Punjab University. He has been member of panel of experts of Punjab Power Development Board for the Establishment of Coal Fired Power Plants in Punjab. He was first one who challenged the Thar coral underground coal gasification project of Dr. Samar Mubarakmand and suggested open pit mining in that coal field. Now, according to his proposed technology coal is being mined at Thar and power generation is going on.

    Prof. Dr. Shahid Munir served as a Vice Chancellor of the University of Jhang from 2018-2022. Keeping in view his outstanding performance, he was appointed as Vice Chancellor on additional charge at, University of Mianwali from July 2020 to February 2021 to initiate that university from scratch that he did in similar fashion in Jhang. Moreover, he assumed the additional charge of the post of Vice Chancellor, University of Sargodha from 18 June 2021 to 17 September 2021. He worked hard to de-politicise the University of Sargodha and implemented meritocracy. He has been member of more than 100 statutory bodies/committees of different organizations keeping in view his visionary and dynamic leadership. He is appointed as Chairperson Punjab Higher Education commission in June 2022.

    Who Should Attend?

    Early stage researchers, students, relevant personnel from the research Laboratories and industries.

    Abstract of the webinar Attached

    Registration Form: https://forms.gle/wb6KhQ9zsZbKdNGw8

    For more information please contact:

    Khazima Muazim
    Program Manager COMSTECH
    khazima@comstech.org

    Maham Yamin
    Program Officer COMSTECH
    maham.yamin@comstech.org

  • International Youth Forum for Agri-Biotechnology

    Date: 4-5 July 2023

    Flyer attached.

    2nd International Youth Forum for Agri-Biotechnology to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan

    The 2nd International Youth Forum for Agri-Biotechnology will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 4-5 July 2023. The theme of this year’s events is “Biotechnology for Food Security and Climate Resilience.” 

    About the Forum for Agri-Biotechnology:

    The Mission of the event is to promote excellence and competence in the field of agricultural and food biotechnology. The theme “Agriculture Biotechnology” aims to provide the best knowledge and resources to young participants to advance their research goals. The youth forum will stimulate the desire to collaborate and change the world of green biotechnology and innovation by promoting state-of-the-art practices in biotechnology research and evidence-based approach. The Forum will include informative talks from young as well as experienced scientists, keynote lectures, plenary sessions, poster presentations, discussions and other educational and social events that stimulate several networking opportunities among the young participants. The forum aims to facilitate interactions within the young research community to discuss the latest developments in this rapidly advancing field and find ways to respond to the increasing demands of professionals and communities across the world.

    You may register through the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp

  • CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM ON MANAGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

    Jointly organized

    by

    Intellectual Property Rights Office (IPRO), International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences,
    OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), and
    Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN)
    Venue: LEJ National Science Information Center
    (March 14, 2022, Time: 11.30 AM)

    Intellectual Property Rights Office (IPRO), ICCBS is launching a capacity building program on management of intellectual property rights, in collaboration with COMSTECH and Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN).

    The series of lectures under the Capacity Building Program on Management of Intellectual Property Rights will be conducted by Intellectual Property Organization, Pakistan. Ms. Saima Kanwal, Assistant Controller of Patents at Patent Office, Karachi, Pakistan will deliver the first lecture of the series entitled, “Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights & Understanding the Patent System in Pakistan”. This lecture will cover following basic aspects of patent system.

    • Concept of intellectual Property and its various forms
    • Patent protection and its rationale 
    • Significance of patent for the researchers
    • Fundamentals of patents system
    • Common misconceptions about patents
    • Case study
      • Introduction to Patent system in Pakistan
      • Patent filing trend in Pakistan
      • Enforcement of patents in Pakistan

    Ms. Saima Kanwal, has been associated with Intellectual Property Organization, Pakistan since 2006. Ms. Kanwal had her M. Phil in Biotechnology from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad and LLM in Intellectual Property from Ankara University, Turkey. During her fifteen years career,

    she has served at multiple positions in IPO HQs and its field offices. She has practical experience of patent examination especially in the field of Biotechnology and Pharmacy. She has been dealing with technical, legal, and policy matters of patents, industrial designs, and geographical indications. She is also serving as national coordinator to establish Technology and Innovation Support centers (TISCs) Network in Pakistan with the collaboration of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to educate the faculty and student on use of patent information.

    Date: 14th March, 2022
    Day: Monday
    Time: 11.30 AM
    Registration outcome will be shared through email, therefore, pl. give your valid email address.
    Participants will receive E-certificates.

    Contact persons:
    Ms. Khazima Muazim                                      Ms. Maham Yamin
    Programme Manager                                      Programme Officer

    COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad     
    E-mail: khazima@comstech.org
    E-mail: maham.yamin@comstech.org

  • COMSTECH Virtual Innovation Lab “Detection of Metabolic Disorders in Neonatals”

    By Prof. Dr. Farzad Kobarfad

    Professor of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

    Date: March 16th, 2022

    Time: 2:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time

    Metabolic disorders in babies affect how infants digest food and convert it into fuel for the body. These infants may lack certain digestive enzymes that allow people to use certain nutrients. As a result, babies may become weak, be lethargic, and experience digestive issues.

    In this live interactive session, Dr Farzad Kobarfad will present his innovative laboratory to the participants followed by a virtual tour of his Laboratory giving a demonstration of the techniques they use for detection of metabolic disorders in neonatal. This will be followed by an interactive session with the participants at the end.

    About the speaker: Dr Farzad Kobarfad did his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from University of Philadelphia (USP), PA, USA and is currently working as an Associate professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry at Shaheed Beheshti School of Pharmacy, Tehran, Iran. He has 5 books and 2 patents and several research articles to his name. In addition, he is also serving as a Technical Director of Iran Doping Control Laboratory, Tehran, is member of editorial board of Iran Pharmacopoeia and also a member of editorial board of Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research (IJPR). He has won several prestigious awards during his academic career too.

    Detailed profile of speaker attached: link

    Flyer of the event: Attached

    Programme: Attached

    Target Audience:This webinar is open to academics, scientists and general public from all OIC states. 
    Register with us to attend this meeting:https://forms.gle/EHhxBace4tzz7t1e7
    Contact us for further details:
    khazima@comstech.org;  maham.yamin@comstech.org

  • COMSTECH Distinguished Scholars Webinar

    Advanced Methods for Structure Determination of Proteins and their complexes: Drug Discovery for Motor Neuron Disease to COVID-19

    Prof. Dr. Samar Hasnain

    Date and Time: 09th September, 2021; 02:30 PM PKT

    Target Audience:

    This webinar is open to academicians, scientists, and general public from all the OIC member  states.

    Profile of Speaker:

    Samar Hasnain is a structural biologist with over 45 years of Synchrotron Radiation experience.  He obtained a PhD in experimental Physics in 1976 from the University of Manchester on molecular crystals using synchrotron radiation at NINA. After spending a year as PDRA with Manchester he joined DESY in Hamburg as a DESY Fellow working on the Storage ring Synchrotron Radiation Facility, where during his stay at DESY, the synchrotron team created HASYLAB in 1978.

    In 1979, Professor Hasnain joined the UK’s effort of establishing the world’s first dedicated synchrotron radiation source (SRS) as a full-time scientific staff member of the Daresbury national laboratory. In 1989, he established the Molecular Biophysics group at Daresbury where he remained as head of the group until March 2008 when he moved to the University of Liverpool as Max Perutz Professor of Molecular Biophysics where he established the Barkla X-ray laboratory of Biophysics, naming the X-ray laboratory after the Liverpool’s Nobel prize winner Charles Glover Barkla (1917) who had established the nature of Rontgen rays (X-rays) that helped to start the field of X-ray Crystallography. During 2011-2105 he was the International Lead for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences of the University of Liverpool.

    He persuaded the International Union of Crystallography to launch the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation in 1993 and became its founding editor with Hiromichi Kamitsubo and John Helliwell. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IUCr Journals from 2012 to 2018. In 2014, he launched the IUCr’s flagship journal IUCrJ. He is a member of the International Advisory Board for IUCrJ. He is also an Editor of the Current opinion in Structural Biology and IUBMB Life.

    He has been engaged with the SESAME synchrotron project in Jordan launched under the umbrella of UNESCO since its inception in 2004 and is the UK Government’s representative on its Council since its foundation. He is Chair of its Programme Review committee since 2018. Previously, he was the founding Chair of its Beamline Advisory Committee.

    He is Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK, since 1991), Fellow of TWAS (since 1997), Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK, since 2002) and Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (since 2017).

    His main interest is in structure-function studies of proteins and their complexes that are involved in biological electron transfer, nitrogen cycles and neurodegenerative diseases. He has been involved in structure-based drug discovery targeted towards neurodegenerative diseases and malaria.

    Hasnain has pioneered an approach to defining the structures of metalloproteins that combines not only X-ray crystallography and solution X-ray scattering, now used widely in the structural biology community, but also X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and optical spectroscopies. More recently, he has included cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in his toolkit and has applied to a number of membrane proteins effectively. The integration of spectroscopic methods with crystallography has proved powerful in providing validation of ‘functional’ states of enzymes as well as providing a route to identifying ‘radiation-damage free structures’. The value of this integrated approach has been recognized widely and has been adopted by the metalloprotein research community worldwide. His drive to obtain ‘damage-free’ structure has led to (i) the ‘multiple structures serially obtained from one crystal’ (MSOX) technique that allows an opportunity to capture radiolytically-driven chemical reactions in the crystal and (ii) the use of XFEL for providing damage-free structures for redox proteins.

    Flyer of webinar:  click here

    Link for registration and E- certificate:

    https://forms.gle/S9yWc3kFN1ccKGWV6

    Address: COMSTECH Secretariat, 33-Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad 
    Phone No. : 92 51 9220681-3
    Email: Khazima@comstech.org ; comstech@comstech.org

  • Advanced Certificate Course on “Technology Commercialization, Innovation and Entrepreneurship”

    August 30 – 31, 2021

    Venue: COMSTECH Secretariat, Islamabad-Pakistan

    Deadline for Applications: August 03, 2021

    Introduction

    The Islamic world is very diverse, comprising of many developing countries which are still in need of awareness and knowledge regarding the latest scientific research techniques. The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agenda, 2026 adopted by First OIC Summit on Science & Technology mandates COMSTECH to strengthen cooperation among OIC member states for capacity building in innovation and foster multilateral collaborations to bolster frontier technologies led entrepreneurship as a way forward in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).

    Undeniably, Science, technology and innovation are globally recognized as strategic drivers of economic growth. Recent developments in frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and biotechnology, have shown tremendous potential to attain the sustainable development goals to support global GDP.

    In this regard, technology commercialization is the most effective and efficient way to transform ideas into products and services, which will eventually satisfy people’s needs.  This process also looks at whether the inherent strategies have a long term economic advantage. Technology commercialization plays an important role in the integrated national approach for innovation and research. Likewise, businesses are always looking for new strategies to improve their market status, increase their business awareness and develop successful products and services.

    Realizing the importance of Technology Commercialization and Innovation for Entrepreneurs, a two-day program has been planned focusing on the subject in August 2021.

    Objective

    The program focuses on lectures being delivered by eminent expert in the area of technology commercialization, aimed at building concepts, enhancing critical thinking, and developing understanding of the subject for startups, technology developers, researchers, entrepreneurs etc.

    Key Contents:

    The certificate course will cover the following topics:

    1. Two Paradigm Shifts in New Era : Digital Transformation and Sustainable Development

    The lecture explores how the assumptions accepted since the 19th century have changed with digital transformation and sustainable development approaches in the new age. It also examines how they have transformed our ways of doing business and our business models.

    • The Entrepreneurial Mindset

    The lecture explores how an entrepreneur’s mindset should be and what skills as well as competencies the entrepreneur should have for the startup.

    • The Lean Startup and Business Model Canvas

    (Technology Commercialization)

    The lecture will explore the Lean Startup methodology and how to use the business model canvas with this approach.

    • Innovation Management

    The lecture explores the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship in sense of how innovation can be managed in institutions.

    Target Audience:

    Scientists, Researchers, Young Entrepreneurs, Innovators, Product Developers, Students, Officials from Incubation Centers, Business Developers,  from the OIC countries.

    Dr. Tuğçe Aslan completed her undergraduate education with a full scholarship as a double major in International Relations and Economics from Bilgi University. After this, she got her master degree in European Economics and Business Law at Rome Tor Vergata University with an IBM scholarship. Then, she received her PhD in the field of Management and Organization at Bahçesehir University with a full scholarship.

    Dr. Aslan is an academic in the Faculty of Business Administration at Bahcesehir University and she is an adjunct professor at Netkent Mediterranean Research and Science University. She gives lectures and conducts research in the fields of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation, current approaches in business and management, and strategic management. Her PhD thesis is on social entrepreneurship and sustainable development. She took part in many national and international projects as a trainer, consultant, mentor, and coordinator

    Travel & Local Hospitality:

    COMSTECH will arrange local hospitality, for all selected participants. Travel support will be provided to the speakers/resource persons only. Participants are expected to get their travel funding from their parent organizations/country of origin.

    Registration Process:

    Step 1: Open online registration form, Click Here

    Step 2: Read instructions in the application form carefully and submit a properly filled form along with your CV. Foreign participants must submit a scanned copy of passport.

    Step 3: Selected candidates will be notified through email; hence, applicants are required to check their emails regularly.

    NOTE: Only shortlisted participants will be notified via Email .

    Venue:

    The workshop will be held at the COMSTECH headquarters, Islamabad. The city was purpose-built as the capital of sixth largest globally and second most populous (in OIC) country Pakistan in the year 1966. Pakistan, according to the Forbes magazine, is a hidden treasure for tourists with rich cultural diversity, ancient history, diverse landscape, cuisines, modern cities, and locally produced items.

    Coordinator

    Muhammad Haris Akram

    Programe Manager, COMSTECH

    Tel: +92-51-9220681-3

    Email: haris@comstech.org

  • COMSTECH Webinar on “Polypill and Life Style for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease”

    By

    Prof. Dr. Reza Malekzadeh

    Professor of Medicine

    Director Digestive Disease Research Institute

    Tehran university of Medical sciences, Iran.

    Date and Time: August 4, 2021 at 10:30-12:30 PKT

    Deadline for Registration: August 1, 2021

    Flyer

    Abstract:

    Cardiovascular diseases are major causes of mortality worldwide. A fixed-dose combination therapy—the so-called polypill—was proposed more than 15 years ago as an acceptable and cost-saving approach to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. Since then, different formulations of polypill have been used in several studies worldwide.

    The research work of Prof. Reza (PolyIran Study) proposes a fixed-dose combination therapy (polypill strategy) as an approach to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The PolyIran study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of a four-component polypill including aspirin, atorvastatin, hydrochlorothiazide, and either enalapril or valsartan for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. This study is the first large-scale, long-term, pragmatic randomized trial to investigate the effects of a fixed-dose combination therapy on primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease

    Target Audience:

    The webinar is open to researchers, academicians, scientists and healthcare professionals from the OIC member states.

    For Registration please visit: Click here

    Procedure to Join: Zoom link will be shared with selected participants

    Furthermore, Prof. Malekzadeh has received 14 national awards including Razi, Avicenna, Yalda, Hadavi, Tabatabaei and Iranian Science awards. He has been awarded the Medal of Honor from International Agency for Research on cancer (IARC/WHO) for outstanding contribution in research on cancer (2018).

    Profile of Speaker:

    Moreover, he is a member of 18 national and international academies and scientific societies. He has published 729+ papers in scientific international journals with 99191+ citations and is among the top 1% world highly cited scientists in clinical Medicine based on Essential Science Indicators. His h-index is 104 in Scopus. Prof. Reza has also established the Golestan Cohort and Persian cohort study in Iran.

    Prof. Malekzadeh is a Distinguished Professor in Internal Medicine and Director, Digestive Disease Research Institute in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He obtained his MD, specialty board of medicine and subspecialty board of gastroenterology from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. He has worked in various capacities in Iranian medical education and research system. In Addition, he was chancellor of Shiraz University; Minister of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and secretary of Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences.

    Webinar Coordinator:

    Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad

    Program Officer

    COMSTECH, Islamabad.

    Email: Haseeb.ahmad@comstech.org

    Phone: +92 51 9220681

  • COMSTECH Webinar on Cyclic Peptides Anticancer Drug Delivery

    By Prof. Dr. Keykavous Parang

    Associate Dean of Research, Graduate Studies, and Global Affairs Professor of Medicinal
    Chemistry and Pharmacology, Chapman University, USA

    13th July 2021 (11:00 AM PKT)

    Abstract: In this presentation, the Speaker will introduce different cyclic peptide platforms that have been developed for anticancer drug delivery. The goal is to further optimize the peptide structures to assure the efficient delivery and safety of anticancer drugs for clinical use.

    Target Audience: This webinar is open to academicians, scientists, and general public from all the member OIC states and beyond.

    Profile of the Speaker: Dr. Parang is Associate Dean of Research, Innovation, and Global Affairs and a Full Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology at Chapman University School of Pharmacy in Irvine, California. He earned a Pharm.D. degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 1989. He received his Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Alberta in 1997, followed by a postdoctoral study in the field of solid-phase organic synthesis in the Department of Chemistry. He pursued additional postdoctoral studies at Rockefeller University in New York and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in bioorganic chemistry. He joined the University of Rhode Island in October 2000 and became a full professor in July 2008. He served as the Program Coordinator of Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (RI-INBRE) NIH program (2012-2013). He joined Chapman University to assist in establishing the School of Pharmacy. He is an author of 189 peer-reviewed publications, 10 patents, and 171 meeting abstracts.

    Dr. Parang’s research can be described as applying synthetic organic chemistry to problems in biology. Specific areas currently under investigation include (1) using peptides as cell-penetrating molecular transporters in drug delivery; (2) designing protein kinase inhibitors; (3) developing multifunctional antiviral, anticancer, and antibacterial agents; and (4) designing peptide nanomaterials for nanomedicine. One major area currently under investigation is to design peptide nanomaterials for applications in drug delivery. The objective of this project is to design and evaluate peptide nanomaterials as cell-penetrating nuclear targeting agents or molecular transporters of bioactive cell-impermeable compounds. This study will document the potential for new hybrid peptide-drug assemblies that may be used for the non-covalent or covalent targeted delivery of bioactive molecules, including cell-impermeable compounds with biological significance. He is an author of 205 peer-reviewed publications, 13 issued or pending patents, and more than 180 meeting abstracts.

    Poster of webinar:  Attached

    Registration Link:
    Click here to Register

    Procedure to join:

    Zoom link for participation will be shared selected participants.

    Address: COMSTECH Secretariat, 33-Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad 
    Phone No. : 92 51 9220681-3
    Email: Khazima@comstech.org ; comstech@comstech.org

  • Training Webinar on PGR

    Training Webinar on
    “Acquisition, Conservation, Exchange, and Safety
    Duplication of Plant Genetic Resources in OIC Member Countries – ASIA Chapter”

    13-14 July 2021, 1100- 1400 hrs (Pakistan Standard Time), 0700-1000 GMT.

    Event date: [acf field=”start_date”] to [acf field=”start_date_desc”]

    Considering the importance of biodiversity of genetic resources and the possible loss of genetic materials from gene banks due to environmental changes or political conflicts, it is crucial to build the capacity of OIC Member countries in conserving and sustainable use of genetic resources in their respective countries.

    Developing strong human resources in the field of Gene Banks and preservation of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) has become an urgent need since many of our Member States do not possess sufficient human and technical resources in this vital domain. To address this issue, Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) and OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) have agreed to conduct a series of related trainings for OIC Member countries. Bio-resources Conservation Institute (BCI) of Pakistan Agricultural Research Centre (PARC) have kindly agreed to provide technical support to the training programme in a series of Regional Training Workshops. Experts from other countries and regions will be included as per the demands of the technical program. These trainings may be considered as a follow up to the online Workshop on National Gene banks organized by IOFS and COMSTECH, July 5-6, 2020.

    Due to the constraints on travel and gatherings imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic the trainings will be held online.

    • Objectives

    •       To raise awareness of OIC Member countries in establishing gene bank requirements

    •       To build the capacity of OIC Member countries in maintenance and operations of gene banks (collection of genetic materials, conservation, germplasm exchange policies)

    •       To familiarize with international and national laws and policies

    •       To discuss and exchange the international practices in the conservation of genetic resources and effective collaboration in this field of various stakeholders on the national and international level.

    • Implementation of activities

    In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the organizing parties will implement the following activities during the period of July-November 2021 in the areas of common interest:

    1.     Online training on PGR (Region-I) Asia                        13-14th July, 2021

    2.     Online training on PGR (Region-II) Africa       

    3.     Online training on PGR (Region-III) MENA 

    Training will include video demonstrations and other interactive features to involve active participation.

    • Participation: Professionals, academics and researchersrelated to the field of PGR and Food Security
    • Interested participants should apply online Click Here  by 7th July 2021.
    • Detailed Program of the 1st Online Training Webinar (Asia Region): 13-14th July, 2021, 1100 to 1400 hours Pakistan Standard Time. (Download)
    • Flyer (click here)

  • COMSTECH webinar

    Abstract: Tankyrases (TNKSs) are members of the poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP) family of seventeen enzymes that use NAD+ as a source of ADP-ribose units to attach to target proteins as a regulatory post-translational modification. Target proteins of the two tankyrases include telomere repeating binding factor-1 (TRF1), nuclear mitotic apparatus protein (NuMA) (essential for separation of chromatids in cell division) and axin (a major component of Wnt / b-catenin signalling). Inhibition of TNKSs is reported to lead to decreased proliferation of cancer cells. The axin−TNKS−KIF3A complex is needed for insulin-stimulated translocation of GLUT4 to the cell membrane. Insulin-regulated amino-peptidase (IRAP) is also a binding partner and target protein of TNKSs. Thus inhibition of TNKSs should enhance insulin-stimulated exocytosis of GLUT4, leading to increased uptake of glucose in peripheral tissues, important in the management of diabetes.

    This lecture will describe the story of how my group, with important external collaborations, explored the NAD+-binding site of the tankyrases through design, synthesis and biochemical evaluation of several series of isoquinolin-1-ones, quinazolin-4-ones, naphthyridinones, pyridopyrimidinones and related compounds. Crystal structures of several of these inhibitors, along with Structure-Activity Relationship studies, allowed detailed understanding of the shape and properties of the nicotinamide-binding pocket. NAD+ is also a substrate for many other enzymes in mammalian cells, including oxidoreductases and the other PARPs; thus the selectivity of inhibitors is important. These studies also led to an understanding of the structural basis for selectivity of inhibition of tankyrases vs. PARP1. Further elaboration of the core structure culminated in identification of two “dual-site” inhibitors binding at both the nicotinamide-binding pocket and at the adenosine-binding pocket. These final designed inhibitors showed exquisite potency (IC50 vs. tankyrase-2 100 pM) and selectivity (65000× selective for tankyrase-2 vs. PARP1).

    Target Audience: This webinar is open to academicians, scientists, and general public from all the member OIC states and beyond.

    Research Interest of speaker: The research focus of the Threadgill group is drug design and delivery. We work on the application of medicinal chemistry (structure-based drug design, chemical synthesis, biochemical and cell biological evaluation) to developing new cancer treatments. Where the biochemistry of other diseases is similar (haemorrhagic shock, stroke, myocardial infarction, etc.), our work has branched out into these areas. We also research new synthetic methods in organic heterocyclic chemistry. Collaborations in Bath, Aberystwyth, Finland, India and Poland are important to our work.

    CV of the speaker : click here

    Poster of webinar:  click here

    Link for registration and E- certificate:

    https://forms.gle/z4jpiV8fiUpN5qf98

    Procedure to join:

    Zoom link for participation will be shared selected participants.

    Address: COMSTECH Secretariat, 33-Constitution Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad 
    Phone No. : 92 51 9220681-3
    Email: Khazima@comstech.org ; comstech@comstech.org

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