INDRC Conference 2022: “Artificial Intelligence Solutions for Understanding and Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders” Launched by International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center in Prague, Czech Republic

INDRC, International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center, a private, non-profit, global research institute established to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions to identify and validate therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the launch of the INDRC Conference 2022: “Artificial Intelligence Solutions for Understanding and Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders.”

The conference will be held on September 7 and 8, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic, under the auspices of the Czech Ministry for EU Affairs. It is organized as the official part of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the Fall of this year, on the occasion of the meeting of the Council of EU Ministers for Health.

The Mayor of Prague will host the Welcome Reception at the Lord Mayor’s Residence in the City Library, an artistic and architectural gem in the art deco style. The conference, co-organized with the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, will be held at the historical baroque Kaiserstein Palace in the world-renowned Lesser Quarter section of Prague.

“INDRC is a pioneering institute, and the first of its kind to combine biological sciences and medicine with big data and artificial intelligence approaches to study the function and information processing of human brain, with the goal of improving treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. The initial focus of the institute is to address the major public health demand for improved understanding of the biology driving neurodegeneration and new interventions to treat these devastating diseases,” said Martin Tolar, MD, PhD, Founder and Chairman of INDRC Executive Board, and Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Alzheon, Inc. “The search for effective treatments remains painfully slow due to the lack of understanding of the complex inter-relationship between brain structure and brain function, as well as limited knowledge of the precise pathogenic pathways that impair or destroy neurons and their connections. We identified this critical roadblock and founded the INDRC to address these challenges by applying artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions to study function and information processing of healthy and diseased human brain leading to new therapies. We brought together the world’s leading experts from neurosciences, clinical research, mathematics, biophysics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, AI, and computer science to bridge this gap and build computational models that combine knowledge and expertise to help address this major threat to humanity in the near future.”

The INDRC was established to address the challenges facing the identification and validation of new interventions for neurodegenerative disorders. INDRC uses a transparent governance model that includes committed international partners from the European Union, North America and around the world, including universities, research institutes, clinical centers, and for-profit/non-profit companies. The Institute applies AI and ML to develop novel integrated analytical methods using an interdisciplinary approach.

“A key obstacle to the development of new therapies is the lack of understanding of the complex non-linear networked relationships between the behavioral and clinical features of a given brain disorder with the underlying neurobiological mechanism,” said Ara Khachaturian, PhD, Chair of INDRC Scientific Advisory Board and Executive Vice President of Campaign to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. “At present, the neuroscience research communities do not have easy access to data and interpretation tools, which typically reside within advanced and high-performance computing laboratories and often require highly qualified technicians, programmers, engineers, and computer scientists. These disciplines are rarely associated with biomedical research focused on brain disorders, and researchers do not currently possess adequate conceptual models of brain diseases, the requisite research mapping tools, or the knowledge visualization systems to efficiently investigate new and promising interventions that connect the complex origins of brain disorders with the clinical symptoms,” Dr. Khachaturian stressed. “Given the recent challenges of clinical trials to demonstrate effective options to modify the clinical course of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, INDRC’s primary research priority is to slow the progression and delay the onset of disabling symptoms, so that people living with dementia and other chronic brain disorders may maintain their personal independence.”

INDRC seeks the establishment of a novel modelling framework to formally examine current theories, as well as clinical and biological knowledge comprising Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration. This effort will: 1) create an inventory of knowledge about various theories, 2) provide a knowledge management platform of these theories, 3) establish a common ontology to identify the most crucial aspects that provide linkages, coupling and/or interfaces between and among the various sub-systems within the complete brain architecture, and 4) construct a high-performance AI/ML model platform – “Modelbase” – to integrate and explore currently available conceptual knowledge and experimental data.

Combining existing biological brain research and AI/ML computational expertise faces numerous challenges that INDRC was designed to overcome. INDRC aims to mitigate knowledge dispersity by developing new methods, models, and algorithms to enable exploration of the complex non-linear dynamics between biology, environment, disease, and public health. The combination of computational and scientific progress provides tremendous opportunities to advance understanding of neurodegeneration and potential interventions to help patients suffering from devastating neurodegenerative disorders.

The INDRC concept offers fresh perspectives through deployment of AI/ML methods and technologies in all possible layers, such as: 1) AI/ML-enhanced diagnostics, e.g., autonomous cognitive assessment, audio & video analysis, 2) novel therapeutic solutions, e.g., ML for protein engineering and new biologically active molecules, 3) AI/ML-enhanced assistance for patients and caregiver care, e.g., assistive devices for home care and telemedicine, and 4) prevention and brain health insights for health systems, primary care physicians, and individuals, e.g., big data processing of social, professional, and lifestyle impacts to individual patients.

INDRC strives to enable stronger collaboration and communication within the scientific community to reduce unnecessary duplication of efforts. The institute aims to facilitate communication within research networks, initiatives, and teams, enabling partners to learn from each other and generate synergies.

“INDRC brings together leading experts from the fields of neurodegeneration and artificial intelligence to achieve breakthroughs in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. INDRC has experienced tremendous progress in the past year, during which we accepted several renowned international institutions and established initial research projects, the results of which we will share at our conference,” said INDRC Director Vít Dočkal, PhD. “INDRC Conference 2022 aims to advance our goal of merging and advancing the globally dispersed knowledge in science and technology, gathering the brightest minds around the world, who share the INDRC vision, to advance therapies with the greatest impact for patients. The integration of fast-paced information technology into life-science and neurosciences will accelerate novel therapeutic solutions, and we welcome Alzheimer’s and AI communities to reach out with projects, ideas, and solutions as we continue our journey.”

About INDRC

The INDRC, International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center, is a private, non-profit, global research institute based in Prague, Czech Republic, that for the first time combines biological sciences and medicine with big data and artificial intelligence approaches to study and treat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The INDRC goal is to merge and advance the globally dispersed knowledge in brain systems and neurodegeneration through research training fellowship programs of excellence, delivering outstanding independent research programs, building a world-class research community, and enabling technological and therapeutic innovations with genuine impact on society and humanity. INDRC is interdisciplinary by design, addressing research bottlenecks and developing new analytical approaches to discover and model the non-linear dynamics between biology, disease, man, and environment. The Institute uses a transparent governance model that includes committed international partners from European Union, North America and around the world, including universities, research institutes, clinical centers, and for-profit/non-profit companies. INDRC projects apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to address the challenges facing the identification and validation of new therapeutic interventions in Alzheimer´s and other neurodegenerative disorders to advance therapies with the greatest impact for patients.

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