Protein-protein interaction (PPI) modules represent the core of network medicine, leaving, for example, the "one disease-one target-one drug” dogma and KEGG pathways as a relevant representation of signaling. However, constructing these modules is debatable because most predictions and algorithms have not yet been validated. In that respect, the interactome must not be overinterpreted as a spatially realistic representation of the cell. Shortest paths, for example, may thus generate artifacts. Moreover, based on recent cell biological data, the size of PPI modules may be less arbitrary or flexible than previously assumed. Data will be presented from the "REPO4EU platform for mechanism-based drug repurposing" on how to diagnose, pharmacologically target, and clinically validate first-neighbor-based modules in disease. Finally, a module cannot be simply enriched with protein-binding drugs; it needs to be understood mechanistically, which we term a "logic module." Only then can the dysregulation be defined and diagnosed, and those drugs chosen that specifically correct the module dysregulation. Thus, to become medically relevant, “network medicine" needs to overthrow not only the current organ- and symptom-based ontology of medicine but also dogmas of bioinformatics, such as gene-KEGG pathway associations, the interactome, and how to define modules beyond PPIs
About the speaker
About the speaker
With a double degree in Medicine and Pharmacy, Harald Schmidt works in network and systems medicine to
re-define what we call "disease" from a descriptive symptom- and organ-based to a mechanism-based
approach by using big data, multi-target validation, new mechanism-based diagnostics, and rapid repurposing
of registered drugs for new clinical applications by network pharmacology. He applies this to areas of unmet
medical need, such as the development and commercialization of a first-in-class neuroprotective therapy in stroke, a therapy against a common and untreatable form of heart failure, and a therapy for resistant hypertension. He coordinated the H2020 project REPO-TRIAL on in-silico network pharmacology, leading to the organ-agnostic European drug repurposing platform project REPO4EU. He was awarded an ERC AdG, and an ERC PoC grant, and chaired two COST actions. He co-founded the journals ‘Drug Repurposing‘ and ‘Network Medicine.‘ His multi-national research experience in Academia (Germany, USA, Australia, Netherlands), Industry (Abbott Labs), and Biotech (Vasopharm) have led to high-impact publications (Hirsch index 103) with high socio-economic relevance such as drug and diagnostics patents, spin-offs and patient benefit. He is a research- and evidence-based influencer, speaker, podcaster, and author (The End of Medicine As We Know It).
With a double degree in Medicine and Pharmacy, Harald Schmidt works in network and systems medicine to
re-define what we call "disease" from a descriptive symptom- and organ-based to a mechanism-based
approach by using big data, multi-target validation, new mechanism-based diagnostics, and rapid repurposing
of registered drugs for new clinical applications by network pharmacology. He applies this to areas of unmet
medical need, such as the development and commercialization of a first-in-class neuroprotective therapy in stroke, a therapy against a common and untreatable form of heart failure, and a therapy for resistant hypertension. He coordinated the H2020 project REPO-TRIAL on in-silico network pharmacology, leading to the organ-agnostic European drug repurposing platform project REPO4EU. He was awarded an ERC AdG, and an ERC PoC grant, and chaired two COST actions. He co-founded the journals ‘Drug Repurposing‘ and ‘Network Medicine.‘ His multi-national research experience in Academia (Germany, USA, Australia, Netherlands), Industry (Abbott Labs), and Biotech (Vasopharm) have led to high-impact publications (Hirsch index 103) with high socio-economic relevance such as drug and diagnostics patents, spin-offs and patient benefit. He is a research- and evidence-based influencer, speaker, podcaster, and author (The End of Medicine As We Know It).
