CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow
Innovation in Drug Discovery Research: Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
The Bioinformatics Center at CSIR-CDRI plays a pivotal role in providing an integrated environment in computational biology, chemistry, and molecular modeling to facilitate drug design and discovery programs.
Its main objectives revolve around establishing a discovery platform based on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology while fostering skill development in the field. The center focuses on creating co-working platforms for infrastructure and capacity building. It aims to develop a discovery platform using Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, academia-industry linkages, and facilitators for advancing bioinformatics skills. Its commitment to skill dissemination is evident through workshops and training programs catering to master’s and Ph.D. scholars, emphasizing industrially and academically relevant computational biology and Bioinformatics skills.
The research projects at the center successfully utilized a blend of artificial intelligence and molecular modeling harness existing data for lead identification. These projects specifically targeted pathways like amino acid biosynthesis and receptor complexes related to infectious diseases and lifestyle disorders.
Concurrently, the center acted as a vital catalyst in creating cutting-edge technologies like the development of ML-PDDT (ML-Powered Drug Discovery Tools) application suite, a web server utilizing machine learning algorithms with three integrated modules: OmegaX for predicting active compounds, AlphaX for screening molecules based on similarity, and BetaX for protein-protein interaction prediction. This suite is accessible at https://cdri.res.in/mlpddt/.
The center collaborates with National Networking Partner (NNP) institutions including CSIR-CIMAP, NSUT New Delhi, IIT Indore, and Manipal University Jaipur, furthering its impact and outreach in the field of Bioinformatics and computational biology. Rational drug discovery involves multiple precise stages, benefiting significantly from in silico analysis at each step. The Centers’s NNP collaboration spans these crucial areas. The project aims not only to provide a strong computational platform but also to validate experimental outcomes. Its primary focus is to foster collaboration among institutes, advancing computational strategies for bioinformatics- related software and drug design applications.