Strategic Goals

See our Strategic Plan:

Breaking Down Silos and Creating New Paradigms for Collaborative Research

This presentation from the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI) was also presented at the retreat.

Members:

  • Jacqueline Fabius

  • Kirsten Obernier

  • Zelda Love

  • Gina Nguyen

  • Saumya Gopalkrishnan

  • Alexa Rocourt

  • Reshmi Tognatta

  • Manon Eckhardt

  • Celine Perier

  • Sarika Parehk

  • Ali Sasan

  • Swathi Sukumar

  • Peggy Ackerberg

  • Margaret Soucheray

  • Nevan Krogan

Web version

Vision

QBI is focused on breaking down silos and bringing together scientists from different disciplines, technologies and disease areas as well as across academia and industry to focus on problems that can only be solved through team science. QBI specializes in developing quantitative research tools to provide deep mechanistic insights on the underlying biology behind different disease states, which helps facilitate these worldwide collaborative efforts.

Goals

  • Ensure sustainable and diverse funding for scientific endeavors

  • Initiate and build national and international collaborations

  • Maintain a robust outreach and media presence

  • Create a new paradigm for academic-industry collaboration to translate science into medicines

  • Training of young, diverse scientists

Highlighted subgoals

  • Creation of an organized approach for obtaining larger collaborative grants from federal agencies such as NIH and ARPA-H

  • Foster and sustain international collaborations

  • Push a creative, outreach and media presence

  • Develop a new LLC structure collaborating with UCSF

  • Creation of internships and learning spaces

    • QBI Y.E.S internships

    • Workshops at UCSF and in West Africa

Collaborations

Cell mapping and QBI Coronavirus Research Group (QCRG): The QBI vision has focused on team science through network mapping of the cell. With many genes already linked to various diseases, the next step is to map how the related proteins interact in healthy and diseased states. These disease agnostic approaches guide mechanistic and structural studies, connect to patient data, and unite scientists across disciplines.

International: QBI has leveraged its science to foster worldwide collaborations in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America and fostered joint efforts across academia and industry. These efforts include research, events and capacity building.

Accomplishment highlights

  1. Cancer Cell Map Initiative (CCMI)

  2. Host Pathogen Map Initiative (HPMI)

  3. Psychiatric Cell Map Initiative (PCMI)

  4. HIV Accessory & Regulatory Complexes (HARC)

  5. QBI Coronavirus Research Group (QCRG)

  6. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

  7. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

  8. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

  9. Freie Universität Berlin

  10. University College Dublin

  11. First International West Africa Symposium on Infectious Diseases in Sierra Leone

  12. “Optimizing the Transition from Science to Drugs” panel discussion

  13. Grand opening of the Bruker Center of Excellence in Proteomics

  14. Institut Pasteur Sabbatical Program

  15. Fellowship program

  16. Hackathons

  17. QBI Youth Equity Science (Y.E.S.) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) outreach program

  18. Outreach and media

Outreach and media

QBI aims to make science more accessible to audiences with diverse backgrounds and education levels by leveraging various communication platforms including websites, newsletters, social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), QBI TV (YouTube), and audio-based interviews (QBI in Space, “Biologist Being Basic” podcast).

Challenges

  • Maintaining sustainable funding

  • Hiring support talent / administrative employee retention

  • Prioritizing and follow up of international relationships

  • Small media team to accomplish multiple goals and projects

  • Remote / on-site working

Future directions

  • Secure funding for AI driven research

  • Create an LLC in collaboration with UCSF

  • Augment research on neuroscience, especially autism and schizophrenia

  • Analysis of international collaborations and sustainability plan

  • Monthly SOP team and Dean reports

  • Identify candidates for the QBI Scholarship for Women from the Global South in Biosciences

QBI-based companies

  • REZO: Using network-based and AI methods to uncover novel targets and unique therapeutic approaches for oncology.

  • SAREA: A new model for industry-academia to accelerate the discovery and the development of new medicine across many disease areas.

PowerPoint version