General Objective: The general objective of this project is to create a Network of people trained in chemical, mathematical and computer science fundamentals to create research proposals for the study and design of drugs and biopharmaceuticals.
Specific objectives:
- Establish the priorities and training needs of each participant; determine strengths and weaknesses; learn about the perspectives of other researchers, the national problem and the goals of each researcher (Activities: Forum and discussion Assumptions: participants have adequate mathematical and physical-chemical knowledge and will benefit from advanced mathematical-chemical and statistical seminars. Indicator: Minutes of the Forum, list of panelists and participants, video of the event, report on the topics covered and conclusions).
- Design an appropriate seminar curriculum to provide participants with the most important theoretical foundations that define the algorithms used in molecular dynamics with regard to drug design and drug-receptor interactions (Activities: Joint planning of training in each seminar. Assumptions: Participants have adequate mathematical and physical-chemical knowledge and will benefit from advanced mathematical-chemical and statistical seminars Indicator: List of seminars; agendas for each seminar; list of speakers).
- Acquisition of hardware and equipment for video conferencing and virtual education (Activities: Acquisition of equipment. Assumptions: participating HEIs require high-resolution video conferencing equipment and for virtual training they need the Mimio® system; participating HEIs must acquire personal computers with processors high performance, graphics card, internet connection and more than 8 Gb of RAM Indicator: Equipment operation report, declaration of PC acquisition for each IES).
- Include researchers and students from other CEDIA member institutions as members of this Network and of GETnano who are interested in collaborating with this project or in the information that is going to be presented in the seminars. (Activities: Forums and Seminars. Assumptions: Other CEDIA members and researchers linked to GETnano are interested in participating in this type of projects and initiatives. Indicator: Letters/emails of invitation to forums and seminars, list of participants, evaluations and certificates of participants).
- Organization of specialized seminars based on the priorities and needs of each participating institution. (Activities: 30-hour seminars spread over 12-15 weeks. Assumptions: Participants have adequate mathematical and physical-chemical knowledge and will benefit from advanced mathematical-chemical, statistical, and physical-chemical seminars. Indicator: Video of the seminars , theme of each seminar, list of participants, evaluations and certificates of the participants).
- Evaluation of the project and preparation of a joint research proposal or proposals on the prediction of biomolecule properties or on ligand-receptor interactions in a protein of physiological importance (Activities: Evaluation forum; conclusions, and preparation of research proposals. Assumptions: The seminars covered the topics of interest and filled the knowledge gaps of the participants Indicator: Minutes of the Forum, list of panelists and participants, video of the event, report of topics covered, conclusions, and presentation of a research proposal or proposals).
Participating Institutions:
USFQ, UCUENCA, ESPOCH
Participants:
- PhD. Cesar Zambrano
- Eng. Maria Elena Cazar
- PhD. William Bravo
Awarded budget: $40000
Project status: Process – Signature of Agreement.
