The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at the Université de Montréal has been granted $583,654 by Quebec’s Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie to support their high-throughput screening platform. This funding is part of the Quebec Research and Innovation Investment Strategy 2022-2027 and aims to integrate real-time cell painting and artificial intelligence-based phenotypic classification technology for the discovery of new drugs.
Real-time cell painting involves the live observation of the morphology of cells exposed to various experimental conditions using fluorescent probes. The high-content screening approach allows for the acquisition of images of labeled cells, providing valuable data for drug discovery. The integration of artificial intelligence tools based on machine learning will aid in processing the large amount of data generated and classifying cell morphologies observed.
This technology can have various applications in drug discovery, such as identifying therapeutic targets, screening compound libraries, optimizing compounds, and characterizing compound mechanisms of action. By studying hundreds of parameters simultaneously, this approach has the potential to accelerate drug discovery programs, improve candidate selection, and reduce development costs significantly.
The grant will support the highly qualified personnel of IRIC’s high-throughput screening platform for three years, enhancing the services offered at the Institute, UdeM, and Quebec. Simon Mathien, head of IRIC’s high-throughput screening platform, emphasizes the importance of integrating real-time cell painting technology to stay at the forefront of new screening approaches and utilize complex biological models that are more predictive of therapeutic effects.
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