Amendments for: 172-2021-2022-Q2-957367

Agreement Value: $96,800.00
Agreement: AI-enabled design of aptamers (957367). Sep 24, 2020 - Aug 31, 2022
Description:

DNA aptamers, small sequences of single-stranded DNA, may be used for biological sensing, cell therapies, immunotherapy, alternatives to antibodies in therapies, etc. They are small, highly stable, and once designed, they can be reproduced in unlimited exact copies. However, the process by which aptamers are designed is time-consuming and expensive (e.g. SELEX) and extensive optimisation is needed to tune their binding characteristics and improve specificity. To address these
challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) methods will be developed to augment and speed up aptamer design. The Project will develop AI capabilities with broad utility across a range of cell and gene (CGT) therapy research objectives in future years of the Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy challenge program. In the near term the Project will leverage a dataset of approximately 1000 aptamers being synthesized as candidates for a COVID-19 sensor platform, thus giving the unique opportunity to have a large impact in mitigating the impact of the COVID pandemic.

Expected Results:

In the short term, anticipated outcomes will be strengthened collaborations across industry, academia, and government to support research excellence. In the medium term, anticipated outcomes will be the development of new and potentially disruptive technologies with collaborators. In the long term, find collaborative solutions to public policy challenges and create stronger innovation systems.

Organization: National Research Council Canada
Recipient: The Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning/McGill University (Academia)
Location: Montreal, Quebec, CA H3A 0G4
Type: Grant
Additional Information:

This agreement has been amended 1 time(s). The end date of this agreements has been modified by 365 days.

Federal Riding Name: Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs (24077)
Program Name: Collaborative Science, Technology and Innovation Program - Collaborative R&D Initiatives

Collaborate on multiparty research and development programs to catalyze transformative, high-risk, high-reward research with the potential for game-changing scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs in priority areas.

NAICS Code: 541710