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Partners

AI4ChemoBrain is realised by a 5-partner consortium, all laboratories of the High Technology Network, to which two companies are added.

The members of the research laboratories involved have already collaborated in previous projects, offering guarantees for the feasibility and effective management of the project activities. In particular, the members of the grouping have already developed ML/AI models applied to the predictive medicine of cognitive decline and frailty (CIRI ICT and CIRI SDV, OPLON project, Smart Cities, MIUR), and worked on the integration of behavioural phenotype data with biomarkers with a view to predicting cognitive decline in various animal models (IRET, LTTA, CIRI SDV).

BIOPHARMANET-TEC has experience in evaluating the systemic impact of chemotherapeutics on the ageing trajectory in the laboratory animal. The grouping (CIRI SDV and IRET) has also experience in translating predictive models integrating functional phenotype and omics data from the preclinical to the clinical field, as already proposed in traumatic spinal cord injury (POR FESR project – Mat2Rep and Finalised Health project).

Lead partner

IRET Foundation is a scientific research organisation in the biomedical field and an accredited laboratory of the High Technology Network. It hosts the Tecnopolo di Bologna – Ozzano site, of which it is the managing body.
IRET is specialised in pre-clinical efficacy testing on disease models performed in laboratory animals. It has long experience in preclinical and clinical research collaborations with the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry. It has conducted numerous studies on animal models of cognitive decline, cognitive decline analysis, transcriptomics.
IRET’s role in the project will be that of: – organisation and management of the historical data set necessary to train the algorithm based on behavioural phenotype data (learning, memory, spatial orientation tests) and its integration with data from omics analysis (in agreement with CIRI-ICT); – execution of the chemobrain experiment in wild type animals and validation in animals carrying AD risk; – overall management of the project, reporting activities and coordination of relations with companies; – responsible for dissemination activities.

Partners

CIRI-SdV – University of Bologna is an industrial research laboratory of the University of Bologna, accredited as a High Technology Network laboratory. The CIRI SDV brings together biomedical and technological knowledge and skills for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, for the care of the individual and the improvement of quality of life, covering the entire research and development chain, from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside and home. It carries out pre-competitive research, applied research, technology transfer and industrial development. With reference to the project, it has expertise in data management and multivariate statistical analysis. With the OPLON project (OPportunities for active and healthy LONgevity, smart cities, MIUR), in collaboration with the CIRI-ICT it has also developed expertise in the development of new functional biomarkers for the early identification of cognitive decline.
CIRI-SdV’s role in the project will be that of: – comparative and correlative statistical analysis of published historical data and new data-sets; – training of staff dedicated to creating large databases of preclinical data; – performance of multi-parametric assays of inflammatory cytokines from the chemobrain experiment in wild type and AD animals.

CIRI ICT – University of Bologna is an industrial research laboratory of the University of Bologna, accredited as a High Technology Network laboratory. CIRI ICT aims to promote, coordinate and carry out activities of industrial research, promotion of research results and technology transfer in the field of information and communication technologies, to meet the needs of the industrial world and sustainability. In particular, the Center promotes solutions to address societal challenges given by the environment, health, and aging; to support the organization of enterprises through automation and intelligent management of information, processes, and products; and to respond to people’s needs.
Among its expertise, those relevant to the project are database design for structured, semi-structured and unstructured data; development of supervised and unsupervised ML/AI models; and design of software demonstrators. With the OPLON project (OPportunities for active and healthy LONgevity, smart cities, MIUR), in collaboration with the CIRI-SDV it has also developed expertise in the development of new functional biomarkers for early identification of cognitive decline, based on automatic analysis of spontaneous speech with ML/AI tools, and experimental verification of the model in clinical trials.
CIRI ICT’s role in the project will be that of: – database design to support historical and project data; – development of supervised and unsupervised models for studying the onset of cognitive decline in chemobrain subjects; – development of machine learning and deep learning models; – design of prototype software demonstrator.

LTTA – University of Ferrara is an Industrial research and technology transfer laboratory accredited as a High Technology Network laboratory that is based on the coordinated activity of services with complementary competencies strongly directed to innovation and technology transfer in the field of Life Sciences and Health Technologies. LTTA offers, among other activities, “Preclinical testing” services through in vitro and in vivo assays in animal models of pathology, including Alzheimer’s disease. It has established experience in collaborations with pharmaceutical companies in preclinical research, and has developed numerous studies in animal models of cognitive decline. These activities and established pharmacological knowledge represent necessary and functional skills for the proposed project.
LTTA’s role in the project will be that of: – selecting the most relevant chemotherapeutics from a translational point of view to be used for the preclinical model of chemobrain; – collecting neurochemical data from animal models of chemobrain (C57 and Tg2576 mice);

Biopharmanet-TEC – University of Parma is an industrial research laboratory of the University of Parma, accredited as a High Technology Network laboratory. The Biopharmanet-TEC Center brings together researchers belonging to five departments of technical scientific and biomedical areas to promote, manage and participate in projects in the areas of industrial research and technology transfer on topics covering: pharmaceutical technology and chemistry; drug development; experimental pharmacology and toxicology; pharmaceutical engineering and process technology; and biochemistry and molecular biology and recombinant DNA technologies.
Biopharmanet-TEC offers, among other activities: development of organoid models relevant to the study of physiological changes related to Alzheimer`s Disease and chemobrain; database design; development of supervised and unsupervised models; machine learning and deep learning; and design of software demonstrators.
Biopharmanet-TEC’s role in the project will be that of: – database development from previously published or ongoing experiments supported by other research projects under Dr. Bartolomucci; – data analysis using multivariate statistics; – development of machine learning and deep learning models to serve as predictors of health and longevity relevant to chemobrain.

Companies

The companies involved work in the area of gastrointestinal function and disease, also with reference to the regulation of the microbiota, consistent with the project objectives, which is to provide evidence-based indications that can be directly implemented in the development of treatments for cancer patients as a preventive measure and/or during chemotherapy to counteract the disabling symptomatology associated with dysbiosis.

Alfasigma is one of Italy’s leading pharmaceutical companies with a strong international focus. It is a Group operating in more than 100 countries worldwide in which about 4,000 people work in research, development, production and distribution.  With more than 70 years of history, Alfasigma has a long experience in the development of innovative therapeutic indications and in Italy it is a leader in the market of prescription products where, in addition to its strong focus on gastro-intestinal, it is present in several primary care therapeutic areas. It is recognized by the consumer public for some well-known self-medication references and dietary supplements rooted in the experience of families.
In 2023 Alfasigma strengthened its international presence with targeted acquisitions in the United States and Europe to enrich its pipeline and expand its product portfolio in Specialty Care, particularly in the areas of gastroenterology, hepatology and rheumatology.
The historical headquarters is in Bologna joined by Milan, while the production sites are: in Italy, in Pomezia (RM), Alanno (PE), Sermoneta (LT) and Trezzano Rosa (MI) and abroad in Tortosa in Spain and Shreveport (Louisiana) in the United States. The R&D laboratories are in Pomezia and in the Kilometro Rosso Science and Technology Park in Bergamo, Italy.
Alfasigma’s mission is to improve people’s health and quality of life by offering caregivers and healthcare professionals therapeutic solutions according to the highest standards of quality and safety.
In AI4ChemoBrain, Alfasigma will collaborate in particular in critically evaluating the achievement of the objectives and in the industrial perspective will pay special attention to the development of a preclinical model of translational medicine, useful to develop and validate the predictive demonstrator of chemobrain onset that will be a health product for the treatment or alleviation of chemobrain pathology.

Wellmicro® is the first Italian Microbiome Based company offering metagenomic sequencing services exclusively dedicated to analysis and research in the field of human, animal and environmental microbiome. Wellmicro® develops innovative analysis methodologies also based on proprietary bioinformatics tools that exploit artificial intelligence models such as, for example, machine learning. Following patented and scientifically validated methods, it has developed a functional interpretation method for metagenomic analysis of the gut and vaginal microbiome by evaluating its possible impact on the individual’s state of well-being/health.
Wellmicro will collaborate in particular in critically evaluating the achievement of the objectives, from the industrial perspective: to identify specific dysbiosis, or microbial alterations, that can be associated with the preclinical chemobrain model on which to develop ad hoc analysis models. The analysis of such microbial signatures, and their dynamics in relation to host physiology, is also an essential element in the eventual development of specific microbiota modulators.

The AI4ChemoBrain project is co-funded by the EmiliaRomagna ERDF Regional Programme (ERDF RP) 2021-2027, ACTION 1.1.2