The third ELRIG meeting on Advances in Cell Based Profiling in Drug Discovery will be held on the 22^nd and 23rd of May 2019 at the AstraZeneca R&D premises in Gothenburg. This interactive 2-day event will host leading scientists from academia and industry to discuss current and future formats for cell based assays. This time the bi-annual meeting will be accompanied by a satellite meeting on Chemical Biology on May 24^th, organized by key academic infrastructures in the Nordic countries. Our aim is to create an open and inspiring environment for networking between biologists and chemists, working towards a common view on expectations from our cell assays and their use for target identification, target validation and compound profiling purposes.

Plenary Keynote Speakers

Professor Herbert Waldmann (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund)
Olli Kallioniemi (SciLifeLab, KI, Stockholm)
Shantanu Singh (Broad Institute of Harvard/MIT)
Ulli Elling (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, IMBA, Vienna)
Craig Crews (Yale University)

Download the event flyer

Cell based assays are utilized at all stages of drug discovery to explore disease mechanisms and to identify novel molecular therapeutics. Significant advancements are being made towards cell reagents and formats that provide a more accurate biological context, aiming at improving translation to human physiology/pathophysiology. Their implementation is much needed for improving success rates in drug discovery, but there are significant challenges associated with reliable and affordable reagent supply and validation of improved translational power to justify costs. This meeting serves to explore recent advancements and to discuss their practical implementation in drug and chemical probe discovery and validation.

The meeting program is developed around four key focus areas:

Precision Medicine in miniaturized formats

Focused on screening of patient-derived material in miniaturized formats for prediction of clinical responses. The focus runs from sampling and characterization of material, logistics in biobanking, its application in cell assays and the related choice of readouts to maximize information gain.

Phenotypic screening through advances in Precise Genome Editing

Example studies of phenotypic screening for target identification and validation through the use of gene expression modulation and advanced cellular model generation. Includes high-throughput genome-wide screening, best practices in hit validation, control of off-target effects and next generation Precision Genome Editing tools with improved precision and efficiency.

Multiplexed Screening with Single Cell Resolution

This session is focused on the use of multiparametric readouts, such as high content imaging including cell painting, high throughput flow cytometry, development of affordable transcriptomics profiling and mass cytometry. Special attention will be on data analysis and new routines for decision-making.

Target Engagement and Coherence with Functional Cellular Responses

The content focuses on different approaches for target engagement, with particular focus on their quantitative comparisons with proximal biomarkers of pharmacological response.

ELRIG Chemical Biology Satellite Meeting- 24th May 2018

The ELRIG Chemical Biology satellite meeting is developed around two themes where innovative chemistry is central to the interrogation of biology. The meeting will address the design, synthesis and use of Protacs, starting with a keynote delivered by Craig Crews, and then lead onto the use of mass spectrometry to understand proteome-wide degradation patterns. This serves to transition the focus into the related chemoproteomics field, where modified chemical tools are used to enable target identification downstream of phenotypic screening.

There will be ample opportunity for networking with scientists and researchers from the pharmaceutical, academic and vendor communities throughout the 2+1 day conference. The program also includes poster viewing sessions, poster spotlight presentation opportunities for select high quality posters and a tour of the Amazing Journey at AstraZeneca.

It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to Gothenburg for an exciting three days in May of 2019!