New approach could be used to improve drug discovery
New approach could be used to improve drug discovery
Cambridge, 11 April 2016… New research published in the Journal of Biomedical Semantics shows how clinical knowledge can be incorporated into bioinformatics software for the task of drug target discovery.
Traditionally, bioinformaticians derive data from laboratory experiments, but this research shows that it is possible to include clinical expertise alongside experimental data. The team from the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation, interviewed expert clinicians with the aim of capturing and including their experience in how phenotypes were related to autoimmune disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This knowledge was then mapped into the ontologies used for bioinformatics alongside other relevant data such as genetic variations studies.
By using this new technique, researchers can now use clinical expertise alongside experimental data, as well as improve the development of ontologies used in data curation. The project hopes this combination of different types of evidence around disease could lead to new paths to identify drug targets.
Dr James Malone, CEO of FactBio, who was senior author of the research said: “As bioinformaticians we have traditionally used a range of laboratory based resources such as genomics, proteomics, and other supporting technologies. However, this new approach will allow us to move from the laboratory into the clinic, using not just data but also the knowledge of those working in the clinic to improve our understanding of biology. The hope is this could lead to new approaches in drug development where clinician expertise is used alongside experimental data as the basis for identifying new candidate drug targets.”
The full paper can be found at http://jbiomedsem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13326-016-0051-7
Cambridge, 11 April 2016… New research published in the Journal of Biomedical Semantics shows how clinical knowledge can be incorporated into bioinformatics software for the task of drug target discovery.
Traditionally, bioinformaticians derive data from laboratory experiments, but this research shows that it is possible to include clinical expertise alongside experimental data. The team from the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation, interviewed expert clinicians with the aim of capturing and including their experience in how phenotypes were related to autoimmune disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This knowledge was then mapped into the ontologies used for bioinformatics alongside other relevant data such as genetic variations studies.
By using this new technique, researchers can now use clinical expertise alongside experimental data, as well as improve the development of ontologies used in data curation. The project hopes this combination of different types of evidence around disease could lead to new paths to identify drug targets.
Dr James Malone, CEO of FactBio, who was senior author of the research said: “As bioinformaticians we have traditionally used a range of laboratory based resources such as genomics, proteomics, and other supporting technologies. However, this new approach will allow us to move from the laboratory into the clinic, using not just data but also the knowledge of those working in the clinic to improve our understanding of biology. The hope is this could lead to new approaches in drug development where clinician expertise is used alongside experimental data as the basis for identifying new candidate drug targets.”
The full paper can be found at http://jbiomedsem.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13326-016-0051-7
