These summer months have been full of events and conferences in which our team has actively participated, presenting our work on different projects and sharing experiences with fellow researchers.
Our presence at the AETOX Congress
From July 3rd to 5th, the Spanish Toxicology Association (AETOX) Congress took place in Murcia, aimed at professionals who apply toxicological science to address societal needs. This edition’s theme was “One Health: Evaluating Safety in the 21st Century,” covering various topics, including environmental and food toxicology, among others. Our CTO, Salvador Moncho, and our PhD student, Ágata Llobet, participated in this event. Our colleagues presented a talk titled “Computational Modelling for the Study of Endocrine Disruption: The Hypiend Project,” delivered by Ágata, and also conducted a workshop on our platform, ProtoPRED.
Predictive Models and ADMET at INCLIVA
Our senior researcher and training manager, Martina Palomino, and our junior researcher, Vicente Aranda, attended a training activity organized by INCLIVA on July 9th, where they delivered a talk titled “Aplicaciones de modelos predictivos para parámetros ADMET”. During the session, they discussed the use of computational applications such as QSAR and Read-Across and gave a brief demonstration of a workflow for drug development.
Learning about Sustainability at INNOCOSMÉTICA
AINIA hosted the second edition of INNOCOSMÉTICA on July 11th. Daniela Hernández, currently interning with us in the Business Development department through IVACE grants, attended the event. Daniela had the opportunity to learn more about the use of ingredients and production methods that minimize environmental impact. New to this year’s edition was the Start-up Pitch Competition, aimed at showcasing emerging start-ups in the cosmetics and personal care sector.
X Symposium for Young Researchers by the Spanish Society of Medicinal Chemistry: Participation of Laureano Carpio and Carmen Ortiz
Our senior researcher and communication manager, Laureano E. Carpio, and our PhD student, Carmen Ortiz, attended the 10th Symposium for Young Researchers in Medicinal Chemistry, organized by the Spanish Society of Medicinal Chemistry (SEQT) in Madrid. This symposium offers postdocs, PhD students, and master’s students the opportunity to share and discuss their results. Our colleagues presented their work titled “Comparative Binding Study of Gliptins to Bacterial DPP4-like Enzymes for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM)” and “Identification of Compounds for the Prevention of Bacterial Infections Using QSAR Models”.
QSAR Models at OpenTox 2024
On August 26th, José Luis Vallés, a senior researcher from our team, participated online in the OpenTox Summer School, an event focused on the practical use of in silico tools in predictive toxicology and risk assessment. José Luis delivered a talk titled “QSAR (eco)toxicological Modelling for Regulatory Purposes: Theoretical Background and Practical Demonstration”, discussing the application of QSAR methods and presenting studies conducted using our platform, ProtoPRED.
FEPS-SECF: Drug Optimization and QSAR
The Spanish Society of Physiological Sciences (SECF) and the Federation of European Physiological Societies (FEPS) organized the joint FEPS-SECF conference, which took place in Granada from September 4th to 7th. Laureano E. Carpio, senior researcher and communication manager, represented ProtoQSAR at the congress, where he delivered a talk titled “Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships in Pharmacokinetics: Predicting Human Tissue Permeability for Drug Optimization” as part of a session with various speakers. Following the talks, the speakers engaged in a panel discussion with the audience to answer questions and exchange ideas.
ProtoQSAR at EUROTOX 2024
Once again, EUROTOX was held from September 8th to 11th with the theme “Toxicology – A Quest for Safe Chemicals and Medicines”. Our Business Development Manager, Simón Perera, and our PhD student, Rita Ortega, participated in this edition. Rita presented her poster titled “DockTox: A Molecular Docking Platform for Screening Small Molecules Targeting Molecular Initiating Events (MIE) Relevant to Liver, Kidney, and Brain Adverse Events”. Meanwhile, Simón was invited to give a talk at the Young Scientist Session titled “In Silico Toxicology from Deep Tech’s Perspective,” where he highlighted the role of Deep Tech in revolutionizing computational predictions and its ability to offer new insights.
Advances in NAM at the ASPIS Symposium
The ASPIS Symposium is an annual meeting that brings together members of the ASPIS group, composed of the three consortia from the Horizon 2020 program: ONTOX, PrecisionTox, and Risk-HUNT3R. Its aim is to advance the safety assessment of chemicals without the need for animal testing. This year, it focused on the implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAM) for chemical risk assessment. Our PhD student, Rita Ortega, attended the symposium, where she presented her poster titled “Metabolomics-Based Identification of Biomarkers for Predicting Drug-Induced Steatosis”.
SUBBIMAT: Kick-off Meeting in Ghent
Our senior researchers, José Luis Vallés and Rafael García, participated in the kick-off meeting of the new project we are involved in, SUBBIMATT, held in Ghent on September 19th and 20th. During this meeting, they had the opportunity to meet new project colleagues and familiarize themselves with the development process.
ProtoQSAR’s Participation in FarmaForum 2024
On September 25th and 26th, Madrid hosted the 10th edition of the Pharmaceutical, Biopharmaceutical, and Laboratory Technology Industry Forum, FarmaForum. Daniela Hernández attended the event to showcase our solutions in QSAR molecular modeling and omics sciences applied to pharmaceutical research and development.
EuroQSAR
This year, Barcelona, the Catalan capital, hosted the 24th EuroQSAR Symposium, titled “Synergizing AI and Multiscale Modeling for Drug Discovery“, organized by the QSAR, Chemoinformatics and Modeling Society (QCMS). From September 22nd to 26th, our senior researcher and training manager, Martina Palomino, participated in the event, where she presented her poster titled “Applying 3D In Silico Tools for the Toxicological Characterization of mycotoxins“.
Salvador Moncho at NanoTox
The 11th International Conference on Nanotoxicology, NanoTox, was held in the historic center of Venice from September 23rd to 25th. NanoTox 2024 focused on challenges related to safe and sustainable multicomponent nanomaterials, addressing the development of new tools for assessing human and environmental risks. Additionally, strategies for the characterization, classification, grouping, and read-across of nanomaterials in risk analysis and sustainability assessment were discussed. This year, our CTO, Salvador Moncho, participated by giving a talk titled “Assessing the Toxicity of Inorganic Nanomaterials Using Nano-QSAR Models“, where he presented one of the modules of our platform, ProtoPRED, focused on predicting different endpoints for nanomaterials. As always, his expertise and contribution did not go unnoticed.
V Job Fair and Company Presentation Day (UV)
The Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Valencia organized the 5th Job Fair and Company Presentation Day on September 25th. Idoia Álvarez, junior researcher at MolDrug, and Ana Ambit, communication specialist at ProtoQSAR, participated in the event. They had the opportunity to introduce the company, network with other industry professionals, and meet future professionals.
