Pre-Conference Workshop Day
Monday June 16, 2025
8:00 am Registration & Morning Coffee
9:00AM – 12:00 PM | Workshop A
Biology Masterclass: Unlocking the Secrets of the Dark Genome & Revealing Mechanism of Action to Uncover Role in Disease
Synopsis
As the role of the dark genome in regulation and disease increasingly comes to light, further in-depth understanding to gain deeper insights into its role in health and disease is critical to aid novel target discovery and validation, mitigate safety concerns, and advance the development of effective therapeutics.
This Workshop will Deep-Dive and Discuss:
- Decoding the composition of the dark genome to map out regulatory elements, retroviruses, and disease-specific antigens
- Analyzing the transcriptome to gain an in-depth understanding of the functional role of RNA in diseases
- Correlating non-coding sequences to protein level changes to decode protein structure function and aberrations in disease
- Understanding the role of epigenetic modifications on dark genome expression to shed light on altered regulatory mechanisms
12:00 pm Lunch Break & Networking
1:00PM – 4:00 PM | Workshop B
Sailing Unchartered Waters: Building the Development Roadmap for the Dark Genome to Navigate Smooth Progression of Novel Therapeutics
Synopsis
As the dark genome remains a largely unexplored and untapped area for drug development, the path to the clinic has added complexities. Therefore, a robust development roadmap from discovery through to the clinic is vital to fast-track research efforts, attract funding, and efficiently translate the promise of the dark genome into beneficial treatments for patients.
Join this Interactive Workshop Led by the Infinitopes Team to Discuss and Share Group Insights to:
- Defining the discovery, preclinical, and clinical roadmap for a novel class of targets to ensure regulatory compliance, efficient translatability, and smooth progression
- Outline considerations for modality and indication selection to influence target prioritization, delivery methods, and safety
- Determining key success factors for the emerging field, including data sharing, technological advances, and funding, to mitigate risk for novel therapeutic development
- Discussing strategies to build awareness, trust, and engagement alongside robust funding and collaboration strategies to safeguard the success of the field