Theoretical physicists and biologists tap into investment analysis for regenerative medicine

 

Today the Biogerontology and Regenerative Medicine Center (BRMC) announced the formation of a new analytical team comprised of theoretical physicists, mathematicians, biologists and computer scientists and the launch of the first modules of the Aging Intelligence knowledge management system. The team’s first analytical model deemed “Analytical Regenerative Medicine Industry Framework” (ISBN: 978-0-9912902-0-8) was presented to a group of young scientists and medical doctors at the new office in the city center of Moscow, who were invited to participate in editing and contributing content to the new system.

"Governments spend tens of billions annually on biomedical sciences and that knowledge is disseminated freely on the Internet. Corporations spend as much as governments or more, but do not publish their findings as actively. Predictive intelligence is possible only by grooming data from a broad spectrum of sources and applying machine-learning algorithms. By attracting the brightest minds in theoretical physics, machine learning and computer science at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and pairing them with the experienced financiers from the West, we are hoping to develop decision support systems that will help in both investment planning and building roadmaps. We decided to take our first shot at the regenerative medicine industry. ", said Andrey Garazha, the director of the Biogerontology and Regenerative Medicine Center adjacent to the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

In partnership with the First Open Institute for Regenerative Medicine for Young Scientists (FOIRMYS) and the UMA Foundation, the BRMC performed a brief training session on the investment fundamentals and announced the launch of a virtual investment simulation, where young scientists are encouraged to compete on forming model investment portfolios comprised of publically-traded companies in regenerative medicine as well as the options on the stocks of these companies. The winners of the competition will be offered positions at the BRMC. 

"We salute the efforts of this new team of young and ambitious scientists who are developing sophisticated mechanisms and non-parametric analytical tools that do not simply make predictions using historic trends, but incorporate data from a variety of sources and react to the expected and unexpected research breakthroughs to dynamically adjust both investment portfolios and research pipelines. There are hedge funds in the US that profited from the genius of the “quants” coming from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the fact that some of the brilliant minds like Andrey Garazha will now turn their attention on building models and knowledge management systems for dynamic roadmaping of biomedical sciences.", said Alex Zhavoronkov, the director of the Biogerontology Research Foundation in the UK and the adjunct professor of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Like computers in the 80s, the Internet in the 90s and social networks in the past decade, biogerontology is the next big frontier in investment potential. Not only it is the most worthy altruistic cause that has the power to save billions of lives and take our quality of life to the next level, it is the most promising area for capital preservation and appreciation. The intelligent Big Data-driven approach to investment analysis and decision making may not only assist with making better investment choices, but also help advance the areas that maximize the longevity dividend and result in cures rather than in treatments.

 “We are glad that for the ambitious quest of solving aging in-silico will commence on the powerful ASUS hardware. ASUSTek is one of the world’s leaders in high-performance IT solutions and in Russia we support Dr. Zhavoronkov’s lab at the largest pediatric oncology center. Andrey Garazha and some of his team members have long been the ASUS Fellows in bioinformatics and medical information technology.”, said Alex Kim, the director of ASUSTek in Russia. 

ABOUT BRMC

Information analysis Center of Biogerontology and Regenerative Medicine is based on Laboratory of Genetics of Aging and Longevity of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. The Center has been constituted for aging research and development of innovative life-extension technologies. Our partners are MIPT, “Northern” Biopharmaceutical Cluster, FSCC PHOI n.a. Dmitry Rogachev and The The Biogerontology Research Foundation.

The Centre is aimed to analyze anti-aging technologies, to overview perspective research guidelines, to create databases of aging biomarkers and geroprotectors, to design educational programs for learning age-related processes and possible ways to control them. By organizing seminars and conferences The Centre will promote development of international collaboration in the areas of biogerontology.

ABOUT UMA Foundation

The UMA Foundation is one of the leading non-profit organizations in Russia that supports young scientists and promotes scientific research. It was set up to revitalize Russian science and to encourage renewed enthusiasm and passion for science and innovation – values that are sometimes lacking in the younger generation. The foundation is governed by leading academics, heads of universities and prominent business people. Among its many other activities, the organization supports the “First Open Institute for Regenerative Medicine for Young Scientists”, a rapidly growing volunteer initiative that was set up by expatriate scientists as a means of providing hundreds of young scientists with weekly lectures by leading international thinkers as well as promoting goal-oriented scientific collaboration.

About FOIRMYS

The First Open Institute for Regenerative Medicine for Young Scientists (FOIRMYS) is a non-profit volunteer initiative bringing together over a thousand enthusiast young scientists and physicians interested in regenerative medicine. It was first organized by Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD in collaboration with Sergey Yakovenko, PhD, Sergey Roumiantsev, PhD and Oleg Korzinov in Moscow , where as part of the curriculum students participate in practicums at “Altravita IVF, FRCCPH, FORCC, Quantum Pharmaceuticals, Biopharmcluster “Northern” and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

FOIRMYS provides regular weekly lectures by the top academic and industry thought leaders, investors and regulators. The list of presenters includes Paolo Macchiarini (Karolinska Institute), Alexey Aravin (Caltech), Charles Cantor (Boston U, ex-director of the Human Genome Project), Augustinus Bader (Leipzig University), top managers from Beijing Genomics Institute, Malaysian Genome Resource Center, Indigo Capital Partners and many others.

Members work in small teams comprised of scientists and physicians on ambitious outlier projects in aging and regenerative medicine with topics ranging from mineralization of connective tissue, HGPS and regulation of endometriosis to industry overviews and healthcare economics. The projects are coordinated in a crowdsourced environment and rely heavily on popular tools like Facebook, Dropbox and Google Apps. FOIRMYS developed a concept called “Personalized Medicine”, where projects are centered around the problems of a single patient, who provides samples and helps coordinate the project. Members also learn how to promote their work, create personal science blogs (including Women in Science initiative) and engage in industry outreach.

Participation in practical group projects resulted in success stories including young scientists’ publications in peer-reviewed journals, fellowships, participation in international conferences, gainful employment of young scientists and international collaborations.