CONCO

Location: Saclay (FR)

Scientific Team Leader: Frédéric DUCANCEL

Website: http://www.cea.fr

Institution:

The Department of Protein Engineering (150 collaborators) of the CEA ("Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique") until recently directed by Prof André Ménez has become the iBiTec-S (Institute of Biology and Technologies of Saclay) under the guidance of Dr Pierre Legrain. This institute has a long-term expertise on bioactive compounds from venomous animals. Its know-how encompasses all the main methodologies necessary for complete biochemical, functional and structural studies of cysteine rich proteins. For about 20 years, the institute has been familiar with mRNA and DNA manipulations, which allowed the description of toxin precursors, but also to express native or mutated venom components.

Key persons involved in the project:

Dr Frédéric Ducancel, team leader, will supervise all genomic and transcriptomic aspects of CONCO. Dr Nicolas Gilles and Dr Denis Servent will manage the aspects related to the pharmacological characterisation of molecules interacting with cellular receptors. Dr Robert Thai will be in charge of analytical aspects and chemical synthesis. Dr Eric Quémeneur will provide access to animal facilities for early toxicity studies.

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