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Description
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The Telethon-TIGEM Foundation is a research organisation that studies mechanisms at the base of genetic illnesses to develop therapeutic strategies. The project executive is collaborating with businesses to ensure the transfer of technological knowledge as demonstrated by the agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and by 11 patents filed since 2004 by Telethon Foundation-TIGEM
The TIGEM Institute is located in Naples, one of the CNR locations, networking with all public and private institutions in the Campania region, and has partnered with businesses locally, nationally and internationally. The TIGEM demonstrates excellence in the research of genetic diseases, as demonstrated by scientific publications and the ability to raise external funds. The project executive has successfully managed and coordinated to present day 13 networks funded by the Communities' Union.
The TIGEM Institute has also established strong connections with laboratories and strategic public-private partnerships and High Technology Districts, and participated in the recent announcement of the creation of public private laboratories. The TIGEM develops gene therapy protocols and identification of active compounds to be developed as drugs. There are important activities related to cell biology, functional genomics, bioinformatics, systems biology and the use of viral vectors as therapeutic vectors. The process of new drug discovery begins with the identification of biological targets that are then validated, and it is also important to understand how the compound interacts with the cellular mechanisms to optimise the drug. For this purpose, for the development of experimental and computational approaches it is critical to verify the effectiveness in vitro.
This development represents the main objective that the aim of this project is to strengthen, through the upgrading of three highly integrated components: A) Platforms for High Content Screening (HCS) on cellular models for the identification of drug targets and pharmaceutical ingredients B) the approach to computational biology to identify new drug therapies C) Platform for the production of associated virus for gene therapy and research. All components are already present at TIGEM under the guidance of scientific officers with "expertise" and adequate occupational skills who are internationally recognised in their respective fields.
The renovation project includes construction and plant engineering. A preponderant share is allocated to the purchasing of scientific equipment. The project will be functionally connected to the 'Bandiera Epigenomica' of the NRC and to the various community initiatives in the context of ESFRI. With this enhancement project, advanced technological expertise and services will be made available to the scientific community, both national and international. These services are not currently available at national level and their availability will have an impact on the whole system of national research.
The enhancement project is relevant and complementary to initiatives at local level and internationally, as demonstrated by numerous loans obtained for these issues from the Community and other international bodies. The enhancement project has seen a fall in the different economic industrial sectors impacting biotechnology in general. The objectives that the TIGEM wants to reach are complementary to those expressed in the Regional Research Programme in Campania. Finally, the training will have an important role and will be integrated with the activities of the enhancement project that we expect will have an impact on employment and the economy, both locally and supra-regionally, in the short and long term.
Training project
The training project was created with the aim of developing didactics and higher professional education in the field of scientific research, as well as diffusing scientific culture through agreements with the Universities and other training organisations. Up to date TIGEM carries out intense training at various levels: A) doctorate program B) post-doctorate training and C) undergraduate training. The national and international doctorate programs are completed entirely in English and provide accommodation abroad for all those that attend. More specifically, national doctorates are in medical genetics and in computational biology and Bioinformatics. The international doctorates, on the other hand, are in Molecular Medicine and in Human Genetics. The post-doctorate training provides work experience for young researchers, who at TIGEM carry out an important and profitable post-doctorate training period and engage in scientific activities and management activities which are student supervision, management training activities and scientific services. C) The undergraduate training includes the involvement of TIGEM researchers in the activity of tutoring students from the faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Biotechnology (various subjects), Biology, Veterinary, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Techniques that are chosen to prepare for the experimental thesis at TIGEM. These students are followed constantly in their course of study, also through the use of written and oral testing, in English, to test the real progress of the research. The proposed training project foresees, beyond the enhancement of research doctorates with the implementation of 2 additional study grants to dedicate to the activities foreseen by the project, a) the training of managerial figures, b) the training of researchers, c) the training of technical/professional figures and d) high-level training.
Training of managerial figures: The objective of this type of training is to provide professionals committed to scientific research with high level interdisciplinary training, responding to the demands of an ever more competitive global workforce. Training of researchers: this training is dedicated to Bioinformatic Researchers and Researchers in Cellular Biology as they constitute specialist skills created within the field of the project. Training for technical/professional figures: the objective of this course is the training of professional figures halfway between research and commercialisation, who can develop the necessary “know-how” at TIGEM using the equipment and infrastructure of the project, and can then undertake “on-site internships” at the interested company to facilitate the translation of the activities foreseen by the project to the business world. High-level training is transversal to courses a), b) and c) but focuses on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. It is an annual course, of one week, reserved for undergraduates, graduates and doctorates with the aim of preparing them both for the academic world and for the business world. The training project, as structured by TIGEM, has the aim of stimulating, supporting and developing the process of learning and change in order to increase the evaluation and distribution of the results of scientific research. To achieve this result, the focus will be on the approach and development of potential, thus increasing knowledge through a training period in the classroom and a training period on the job. During the training period on the job (Action Learning) it is predicted that the participants will spend some days in the TIGEM laboratory and will live a mentally and emotionally intense experience, which will accelerate and optimise the learning process time.
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