MARBLES at ICNPR 2024: Natural Product Discovery
Together with fellow AIMS Cluster projects InnCoCells and SECRETED, MARBLES organised the Session IV: Prospecting aquatic and terrestrial natural biological resources for biologically active compounds on 15 July 2024 in Krakow at the International Congress on Natural Products Research (ICNPR), the biggest conference in natural products chemistry!
The session showcased the research initiatives of the AIMS Cluster, which includes the EU projects Algae4IBD, InnCoCells, MARBLES and SECRETed, funded by the EU H2020 Programme. These projects are exploring aquatic and terrestrial natural resources for biologically active compounds.
Chair of Session IV, was Nikolaos Fokialakis (National and Kapodistrian University, Greece). The session commenced with a presentation by SECRETed Coordinator, Manuel Salvador from IDENER,who gave a thorough rundown of the project's vision and strategy, highlighting the sustainable use of bio-based compounds that were identified and developed from natural sources.He emphasised how the project's creative approaches to finding and utilising these valuable biological resources demonstrated SECRETed's dedication to sustainability and state-of-the-art natural product exploratory research.
Session IV continued with a presentation by Alain Goosens (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie VZW) who is a key partner in the InnCoCells project. Alain gave a summary of the project's concept, highlighting the possibility for cutting-edge, premium cosmetics made from plants and plant cells. He talked about the innovative biotechnology techniques for transforming natural components and sourcing them sustainably. His talk focused on InnCoCells' mission to transform the cosmetics market by using plant biotechnology to produce high-quality, environmentally friendly products.
Next was key MARBLES partner, Fernando Reyes (Fundacion MEDINA) who provided a detailed overview. His talk concentrated on the objectives of the research, focusing in particular on the investigation of marine biodiversity. He highlighted its great potential as a sustainable reservoir, vital in identifying bacteria that suppress illnesses and bioprotectants that are vital in the fight against diseases in crops and within aquaculture.
The session concluded with three presentations from partners of SECRETed and InnCoCells. Manuel Salvador from IDENER and Kieran Walshe from Accuplex Diagnostics, both partners in SECRETed. Additionally, Amir Akhgari (VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd) and coordinator of InnCoCells, presented sustainable skin care ingredients derived from plant cells, emphasising their scientifically proven efficacy.
Overall, the session was highly successful in demonstrating the collaborative efforts and innovative capabilities within the AIMS Cluster, as well as showcasing the achievements of each individual project involved. The presentations underscored how these initiatives are advancing research and development in their respective fields, fostering impactful contributions to science and technology.
Overall, the session was highly effective in highlighting the accomplishments of each individual project involved and showing the AIMS Cluster's innovative abilities and collaborative efforts. Their presentations and discussions emphasised the ways in which these projects are promoting significant contributions to science and technology by furthering research and development in their respective domains.