Scientists Use Supercomputers In New Approach To HIV Drug Design
April 5th, 2008 by 
Barry - Admin BioPharmArena
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and IBM are using powerful computing technology - including the world’s most powerful supercomputer, Blue Gene - in a new approach to designing drugs that inhibit infection by the HIV virus.
The project, which has been welcomed by First Minister Alex Salmond, is focused on how the human HIV-1 virus attaches to cells in the body. Researchers are examining a fragment of the surface protein of the virus, known as a peptide, which is crucial in stimulating the body’s immune response to viral attack. Understanding the structure and behaviour of the peptide will allow for drugs to be designed which can target this infection process.
Most HIV therapies so far have focused on the behaviour of the virus in the body after infection has taken place, when the virus multiplies and then spreads through the bloodstream. This project aims to target the infection process itself.
The project is a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, IBM Watson Research Centre in New York and the National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex.
Jason Crain, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Divisional Head of Science at the National Physical Laboratory, said: “This is a new approach to drug design - we are using sophisticated algorithms coupled with experimental techniques to design improved molecular therapies, and we can capitalise on enormous computing power to do this efficiently and rationally.”
The University of Edinburgh is at the forefront of advances in high performance computing and provides the widest range of supercomputer facilities of any university in Europe.
IBM Researcher Glenn Martyna said: “One of the great challenges in the medical community is to find a vaccine for the HIV virus. By combining the experimental research of the University of Edinburgh and the simulation capabilities of the world’s most powerful supercomputer, IBM’s Blue Gene, we just might get much closer to that goal.”
During Scotland Week in America, First Minister Alex Salmond said: “This life sciences collaboration, between one of Scotland’s leading universities and one of America’s biggest corporations, is a first class and positive example of the sort of connections we are trying hard to encourage and support.”
“I am delighted that through the efforts of Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, we have been able to play a part in bringing this exciting project to the key stage it is at.”
University of Edinburgh is one of the top 10 Universities in Europe, one of the top 30 in the world (Times Higher World University Rankings)
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