In this behind-the-scenes interview, we converse to Dr. Sinéad Knight, chair of SLAS Europe 2023, about this years programme, highlighting the important thing matters and unimaginable audio system presenting on the present.
Please are you able to introduce your self and inform us what impressed your profession inside the life sciences?
I’m Sinéad Knight, initially from Tipperary in Ireland, however I’ve been dwelling within the UK since 2010.
My profession within the life sciences began once I moved to Dublin at simply 17 to review Biotechnology at Dublin City University. I used to be all the time serious about Biology and loved the topic in secondary faculty.
After I graduated, I bought my first job in a QC laboratory at Baxter Healthcare. There I discovered that I had missed analysis and shortly returned to Dublin to do my Ph.D. at Trinity College Dublin. I’ve all the time loved the analysis facet of the life sciences, and I discover the medical nature of drug discovery most inspiring.
Currently, you’re a principal scientist at Sygnature Discovery, a number one impartial supplier of built-in drug discovery assets and experience. Can you inform us extra about your function and a few of your day-to-day duties?
My function at Sygnature Discovery could be very dynamic, and I work with many purchasers at completely different drug discovery phases and throughout varied therapeutic areas.
At Sygnature, we’re surrounded by consultants from each the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and a part of my function is to leverage this to assist our shoppers implement efficient drug discovery methods. I’ll work with computational chemists, bioscientists, biophysicists, medicinal chemists, and in vivo pharmacologists on any given day.
It is a enjoyable and dynamic setting, and there may be all the time one thing new to study every day. I benefit from the array of various targets and therapeutic areas.
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As somebody with over 15 years of expertise working in pharmaceutical drug discovery tasks, how do you’re feeling the drug discovery sector has developed over the past ten years? How vital is the sector in enabling a greater future for human well being?
I believe Drug Discovery turned a nook after the COVID-19 pandemic, and I believe it has given scientists added confidence that medicine may be found and delivered to avoid wasting lives and have a social influence with the fitting funding and collaborations. Collaborations are so vital now for drug discovery; we’ve got seen this an increasing number of; targets get validated faster, and medicines get found extra successfully when groups come collectively.
I additionally assume scientists right now have the added problem of local weather change and decreasing our carbon footprint within the laboratory. I really feel impressed by the youthful scientists becoming a member of the lab and developing with new concepts to cut back plastics and waste within the laboratory. Like so many different industries, the life sciences want to alter. It’s getting more durable and more durable to disregard the waste generated in life science laboratories.
With so many breakthroughs being made, expertise has to constantly evolve to maintain up. What function does expertise play within the subject of drug discovery, and the way are new fields similar to AI and machine studying impacting this?
Technology is every thing. It goes hand in hand with drug discovery, and it permits the life sciences to evolve and open doorways which have beforehand been shut, permitting us to do issues sooner, smarter and cheaper,
At Sygnature, we’ve got to remain on high of technological advances to remain aggressive and entice shoppers. We work with many startups who need to get solutions shortly and effectively, and expertise permits us to do that.
I believe AI and machine studying are having a massively constructive influence on the life sciences, particularly in mining medical knowledge to determine footprints of illness and figuring out biomarkers. Watch out for the OMICS, Big Data, and AI session within the Frontiers in Technology Track.
As effectively as your function at Sygnature Discovery, you might be additionally concerned in SLAS as one in every of their program committee members for SLAS EU 2023. Why did you become involved with SLAS, and what does your function entail?
Working with SLAS is a extremely vital a part of my profession, it allows me to community with colleagues throughout all the main pharmaceutical industries, similar to GSK, AZ, and Roche, in addition to academia and biotech. It helps me keep on high of latest developments and applied sciences, which is a big a part of my profession.
My function as convention chair is to make sure we carry related and cutting-edge to the convention. Attendees come to the convention hoping to find out about new developments of their space and create new collaborations.
A giant a part of my function is making certain that we symbolize a various neighborhood at SLAS, from biotech, pharmaceutical and educational establishments. I’ve labored in academia, biotech, CRO, and prescription drugs, so it helps construct a various set of contacts and provides a perspective on the completely different content material the completely different scientific communities will profit from.
I’m additionally an affiliate editor for SLAS Discovery, one in every of two open-access journals printed by SLAS. We’ve not too long ago added a number of article varieties to our journals. It gives one other platform to showcase analysis, protocols, analyses, or different scientific and technical advances.
SLAS Europe 2022 – Dublin, Ireland
SLAS EU 2023 is a world exhibition that brings collectively life sciences professionals from academia to business. What makes SLAS particular, and the way does the collaboration between academia and business assist to speed up new discoveries within the life sciences?
For me, SLAS is particular as a result of it reaches out throughout such a various scientific neighborhood internationally, representing biotech, huge pharma, and academia. Each neighborhood gives one thing distinctive in drug discovery, whether or not it is infrastructure, organic perception, or drug discovery know-how, and SLAS is an ideal platform to carry these collectively.
Collaborations between academia and business are massively helpful to the life sciences. In academia, we frequently have consultants in a specific therapeutic space, usually with shut hyperlinks to University hospitals and medical samples/knowledge, which may provide invaluable insights into organic processes and therapeutic targets. On the opposite hand, the business has a long time of drug discovery know-how and might help carry medicine from hit ID by way of to guide optimization and medical research. Both communities can study and develop sooner, making it extra enjoyable. Working with completely different communities makes our job more difficult, fascinating, and colourful.
At Europe 2023, we’ve got a wealthy palette of audio system/chairs from educational institutes such because the University of Oxford, University College Dublin, The Sanger, and the University of Edinburgh.
This yr’s convention and exhibition will give attention to 4 vital instructional tracks; Biology Unveiled, Frontiers in Technology, Shaping the Future of Therapeutics, and Bio-Entrepreneurship in Europe’. Can you inform us extra about these tracks and the significance of specializing in these areas particularly?
We hope with the broad-reaching tracks that, there will likely be one thing for everybody that has an curiosity in drug discovery,
Frontiers in expertise will showcase new developments in expertise, however the Biology Unveiled monitor will reveal how these applied sciences influence and assist drive and enhance the drug discovery course of.
I’m actually trying ahead to the Shaping the Future of Therapeutics, and I believe this will likely be a highly regarded monitor. We have seen many developments on this space over the past decade, and the monitor consists of periods on Cell Therapy, Gene Therapy, Targeted Protein Degradation, and RNA Therapeutics.
Bio-entrepreneurship is an thrilling new monitor, providing worthwhile insights to these serious about securing funding or growing their analysis right into a startup.
At SLAS EU, there may also be quite a few unimaginable audio system discussing among the largest challenges within the life sciences in addition to new analysis and applied sciences. Can you speak us by way of among the audio system folks can count on from SLAS this yr?
Well, there will likely be so many nice talks; it’s not a simple activity to focus on just a few. The audio system will cowl an enormous vary of matters and can symbolize academia, biotech, and prescription drugs.
The Frontiers in Technology monitor has audio system lined as much as speak by way of matters on pattern administration, excessive content material screening and protein science and OMICS, huge knowledge, and AI. Louise Weiss from the AI hub will talk about “Machine studying to uncover digital fingerprints in translational omics knowledge”. We even have talks on pattern administration from AstraZeneca, Evotech, and Grenova.
In the biology unveiled monitor, we’ve got some thrilling talks lined up within the Target Validation monitor from AstraZeneca, The Sanger Institute, and Benevolent AI.
We have knowledgeable audio system in future therapeutic areas similar to cell remedy, gene remedy, RNA therapeutics, and protein-targeted degradation.
Bio-entrepreneurship is an thrilling new monitor, providing worthwhile insights from Venture Capitalist Investment to Innovation and IP administration.
Image Credit: AZoNetwork
SLAS can be distinctive as they provide ‘Innovation AveNEW’, an space on the exhibition ground devoted to startups. What function do startups have within the life sciences ecosystem, and why is showcasing these new firms invaluable?
Startups are an enormous a part of the life sciences ecosystem; they bring about a dynamic to drug discovery that usually bridges the strengths of academia with business. As effectively as publishing analysis, startups translate analysis into work that has an influence on drug discovery.
Showcasing these new firms at SLAS2023 might help increase the profile of latest startups and what they provide throughout the drug discovery neighborhood, foster collaboration, and generate enterprise alternatives.
With over 100 exhibiting firms and quite a few worldwide audio system, why ought to people attend SLAS EU 2023? Where can folks go to register?
SLAS Europe solely comes round annually. For us right here in Europe, it is simpler to get to than SLAS within the US, nevertheless it gives the identical array of dynamic content material from worldwide audio system.
It’s a improbable alternative to community with the life sciences neighborhood and rise up to hurry on new developments and applied sciences. It’s an opportunity to meet up with distributors, speak by way of their newest developments, after which head again to your institute full of concepts for innovation.
You can register on-line at https://www.slas.org/events-calendar/slas-europe-2023-conference-and-exhibition/attend/register/
What is subsequent for you and your profession? Are you concerned in any thrilling upcoming tasks?
As effectively as chairing SLAS Europe this yr, I’ve additionally been concerned in designing the course content material for an SLAS High Content Biology workshop, and I’m trying ahead to seeing that being rolled out this yr.
After serving on the SLAS European Scientific Program Committee (ESPC) for 2 years, I’ve not too long ago been elected as vice-chair, and I sit up for the brand new challenges it brings.
I’m additionally an affiliate editor for SLAS Discovery, one in every of two open-access journals printed by SLAS. We’ve not too long ago added a number of article varieties to our journals, together with protocols, and I sit up for selling this amongst the life sciences neighborhood.
At Sygnature Discovery, I’m concerned in many alternative drug discovery tasks from early Hit ID, goal validation, and lead optimization throughout quite a lot of therapeutic areas similar to Oncology and Neuroscience, and I’m trying ahead to working along with our consultants in Cell Biology, Biophysics, Med Chemistry, and Computational Chemistry to seeing these tasks progress over the subsequent yr.
About Dr. Sinéad Knight
Sinead obtained her PhD in Genetics from Trinity school Dublin, Ireland earlier than transferring shortly to the biotech business.
With nearly twenty years of business expertise in biotech and biopharmaceuticals, Sinéad is an knowledgeable within the subject of #drug discovery, #goal identification and goal validation.
Sinéad is presently Principal Scientist and Section Head at Sygnature Discovery working carefully with SMEs and biotech firms
to develop and progress drug discovery tasks.
Previous roles similar to Associate Principal Scientist with the Functional Genomics group in #AstraZeneca instilled a love of utilizing cutting-edge expertise and informatics to uncover and
translate biology and novel targets throughout a spread of therapeutic areas together with cardiovascular, metabolism and oncology.
Sinead’s expertise in drug discovery ranges from early hit identification in high-throughput screening by way of to guide optimisation and candidate choice.
Sinéad has been concerned with SLAS since 2019 and is a member of ESPC (SLAS European Scientific Programming Committee) and SLASDiscovery editorial board.