The Central Operations Core (COC) at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) will act as the central repository for all materials and related data associated with the biological samples and pharmacological testing that will be conducted for this ICBG program. Collection, processing, and assay data will be managed using the Natural Products Information System (NAPIS) database. The COC will manage the existing library of 8000+ extracts and continue to acquire new extracts via collections, while efficiently distributing these to collaborators for screening in assays relevant to the U.S., low and middle-income countries (LMICs), and the island nations of the South Pacific. Assays will target the following disease areas: i) infectious disease, ii) neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) iii) cancer, and iv) neurodegenerative, CNS, and psychoactive disorders. Hit prioritization will be evaluated via potency, bioactivity spectrum, cytotoxicity and chemical novelty based on LC-MS de-replication, genomic and taxonomic novelty emphasizing understudied species and ecotypes, and chemical ecology data. Our industrial partners Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Eisai Inc. will also assist with prioritization based on issues of efficacy, mode of action, and medicinal chemistry properties. The COC will also coordinate legal agreements, contracts, and permits required for domestic and international research activities and oversee the safe transfer of extracts, fractions or bulk samples from the CDDC in Fiji to the COC in Atlanta, as well as coordinate collecting trips to Fiji and the Solomon Islands in collaboration with the CDDC. The COC has considerable experience with the above issues. To date, its personnel have organized 8,496 extracts that have been screened in a variety of cell and molecular target-based assays to produce 221,805 assay results that have thus far lead to the identification of 121 bioactive natural products, including 48 novel compounds from marine algae, 7 from marine-invertebrates, and 33 from microbes.
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