SAIAB Seminar Series 2021: Harnessing the metabolic potential of indigenous marine biodiversity

Webinar, Thursday 04 November 2021, 10:30

Currently, natural products or their derivatives account for more than half of all new pharmaceutical drugs on the market or in clinical trials. Many of the new molecules in the drug discovery pipeline are marine natural products (MNPs), isolated from invertebrates, tunicates and their microbial communities. The South African coastal waters sustain an exceptionally rich diversity of endemic benthic biota with the potential to provide a pharmacopeia of novel MNPs to support the development of  new  antimicrobials to  combat emerging infectious diseases.

This lecture, entitled Harnessing the metabolic potential of indigenous marine biodiversity – a multidisciplinary drug discovery pipeline and presented by professor Rosemary Dorrington, will focus on the development of SA/UK Antimicrobial Drug Discovery Hub, highlighting the biodiscovery pipeline from sponges on the reefs to isolated bioactive compounds and the microbes that produce them.

Zoom registration link:

https://bit.ly/3G2vsqJ