Nanocourses

November 2015 Yale Center for Molecular Discovery Nanocourse

Overview

The Yale Center for Molecular Discovery (YCMD) is happy to announce the continuation of its Nanocourse in Molecular Design and Screening.  The course will be held on Thursday, November 5 from 9:30 AM until 2:30 PM at Yale West Campus Molecular Innovation Center.

The goal of this course is to provide an overview of strategies for assay design, optimization and screening of small molecules and/or siRNA libraries.  High throughput and high content screening approaches as well as optimizing compounds for improved properties and bioactivity will be discussed. The format will emphasize discussion of best practices based on actual projects.  Three small groups (up to 10 people each) will be formed, and each group will participate in all three breakout sessions to maximize discussion.

The Nanocourse is available to all YALE or UCONN students, staff and faculty.  Attendance will be limited to 30 people and an application form must be submitted.  If the number of applicants greatly exceeds the limit, additional dates may be scheduled.  Lunch will be provided. 

The deadline for applications is Friday, October 30^th at 5 PM to jackie.mcgrath@yale.edu

Agenda:

9:15 AM – 9:30 AM          Coffee and Tea at West Campus MIC-101 conference room

9:30 AM – 10:10 AM        Introduction to YCMD and Project Strategy 
                                        (Janie Merkel)

                              Schedule and Logistics               
                              YCMD Mission and Approach
                              Instructor Introductions
                              Group Introductions
                              Drug Discovery Process
                              Basic Statistical Concepts of Screening Data Analysis     

10:20 AM – 11:10 AM      Breakout Session I

11:20 AM – 12:10 PM      Breakout Session II

12:20 PM – 1:00 PM        Lunch at West Campus MIC-101 conference room

1:10 PM – 2:00 PM          Breakout Session III

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM           Tour of Center (optional)

Breakout Sessions

Biochemical Screening (Pete Gareiss)

                                        Assay Development
                                        Assay Types and Detection
                                        Data Analysis and Next Step|

Cell-Based Screening (Laura Abriola and Yulia Surovtseva)

                             Target-based vs. Phenotypic screening
                             Assay Design                 
                             Assay Technologies Including Image-Based Assays
                             High Content Screening vs. Plate-Based Readers
                             Examples of YCMD Cell-based screens      

Chemical Lead Finding and Optimization (Mark Plummer)

                             Selecting better hits and leads
                             Virtual screening and hit expansion
                             Optimizing for bioactivity and bioavailability