A new promising influential area in modern biology and medicine is ribonucleic acid (RNA) biology. It has revolutionised molecular biology and will have profound implication for future therapies.
The Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM) in Portugal will gain the support it needs to achieve scientific excellence and promote research in RNA biology. The EU-funded project RiboMed will help iMM establish a strategic collaboration via twinning with partners from already well recognised communities working on RNA biology in the University of Oxford (UK), the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC, Germany).
The goal is to implement short-term staff exchanges, joint lab retreats, expert visits, thematic courses, mentoring, conferences and technical on-site visits and work towards translation of basic findings into potential novel biomarkers, RNA-based diagnostic assays and RNA therapeutic targets. This will boost the consolidation of the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem at iMM.
Objectives:
- Promote scientific excellence through the implementation of joint research projects between iMM and the partner institutions.
- Nurture early stage RNA researchers at iMM.
- Raise international awareness of iMM human capital and high-quality research teams.
- Strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity at iMM.
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board will closely monitor the RiboMed progress. It will include internationally recognised leaders in Medicine and RNA biology, namely Professors Detlev Ganten, Javier Caceres and Benjamin Blencowe.
Industrial Advisory Board
The Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) is composed by 4 members with significant industry and scientific experience in the field of RNA biology:
Melissa J. Moore
CSO mRNA research at Moderna Therapeutics
Adrian R. Krainer
St. Giles Professor of Molecular Genetics, Program Chair of Cancer and Molecular Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Co-Founder & Director at Stoke Therapeutics
Zandy Forbes
President & CEO at MeiraGTx
Keith Blundy
CEO at Storm Therapeutics
The IAB will provide strategic guidance in the development of the Innovation Strategy and Action Plan.
RiboMed Flyer here.
