IPDD kicked off and all work groups are active

The new theme for Integrative Pharmacology and Drug Discovery (IPDD) gathered many members at the kick-off in April, both from the national community and from abroad. The working groups have different approaches and complement each other in interesting ways around drug discovery and development.

Karin Lindkvist, theme leader was very happy with the turnout and the discussions at the event:

“To start with, we were of course very glad to meet in person and have talks face-to-face. The level of engagement was also great and we realised that we can learn a lot from our various backgrounds, although it can also be a bit of a challenge”.

A central idea is that the working groups will invite each other to seminars, workshops and similar so there can be a knowledge transfer and bridge between fields.

“There is a lot in the area of Biomedical Imaging that is new to me, says Karin Lindkvist. It is fantastic to see what can be done and it would be extremely valuable to have a beamline for this also at MAXIV in Lund. Now this research must be carried out elsewhere, like Grenoble”.

There are not many researchers in Sweden who are active in the area of Structure-based drug design, in which Karin Lindkvist is active herself. She sees a chance to maybe strengthen the topic nationally and also learn from fellow researchers in Denmark where the field is much stronger.

“Here, there is more research and development carried out by industry, rather than in academia. However, their focus is on mainly finding promising new drugs whereas we can develop methodologies and test new technologies”, says Karin Lindkvist.

Just as many other researchers, Karin Lindkvist is actively engaged in dialogues with smaller biotech companies that can develop research results to commercial solutions. This provides both parties with opportunities to learn and transfer knowledge which is beneficial to all.

Some events have already launched and there are more planned for after the summer break. A proposal from the kick-off was also to find out if yet another working group could be set up, targeting Drug delivery. An internal workshop will take place probably in late August to gather interest from those who can engage in this area.

Read more about the theme IPPD and the current work groups here.
For questions about the theme and its activities, please contact Karin Lindkvist.