Toxins have evolved in various animals, plants and microorganisms as a chemical armory to help them capture prey and/or defend against predators. Toxinology, the study of toxins, has contributed to our understanding of their structure, pharmacological function, and mechanism of toxicity. Such knowledge has not only allowed us to overcome the disease, debilitation and death caused by toxins, but also has provided exquisite research tools, diagnostic agents and therapeutic leads to resolve several human diseases and other intricate veterinary and environmental problems. With the advancement of various technologies, our horizons have expanded in recent years. The 22nd World Congress of the International Society of Toxinology will highlight and celebrates the recent amd state-of-the-art discoveries and developments in basic, applied, and clinical research relating to animal, plant, and microbial toxins. The aim of the Congress to further expand horizon and solidify the foundation of toxinology.
- Unique origin and molecular evolution of toxins through comparative genomics, with associated transcriptomics and proteomics
- Applications of omics technologies to drug target identification and drug discovery
- Understand the systems-wide pathophysiological effects with insights into biological pathways and mechanisms of envenoming towards improved therapeutic strategies
- Application of structural genomics to novel design of potential therapeutic, industrial and other uses
- Characterization of venom peptides with novel pharmacology and structure-function