Venom Genomics and Proteomics

In recent years, the field of Toxinology has expanded substantially. On the one hand it studies venomous animals, plants and micro organisms in detail to understand their mode of action on targets. While on the other, it explores the biochemical composition, genomics and proteomics of toxins and venoms to understand their three interaction with life forms (especially humans), development of antidotes and exploring their pharmacological potential. Therefore, Toxinology has deep linkages with biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy and pharmacology. In addition, there is a fast developing applied subfield, clinical toxinology, which deals with understanding and managing medical effects of toxins on human body. Given the huge impact of toxin-based deaths globally, and the potential of venom in generation of drugs for so-far incurable diseases (for example, Diabetes, Chronic Pain), the continued research and growth of the field is imminent. This has led to the growth of research in the area and the consequent scholarly output by way of publications in journals and books. Despite this ever growing body of literature within biomedical sciences, there is still no all-inclusive reference work available that collects all of the important biochemical, biomedical and clinical insights relating to Toxinology. The Handbook of Toxinology aims to address this gap and cover the field of Toxinology comprehensively.

Prof P. Gopalakrishnakone, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., F.A.M.S., D.Sc., is presently professor of anatomy and chairman of the Venom and Toxin Research Programme at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He is also a consultant to the Defence Science Organization in Singapore and adjunct senior research scientist at the Defence Medical Research Institute. Prof. Gopalakrishnakone is an honorary principal fellow at the Australian Venom Research Unit, University of Melbourne, Australia. His research studies include structure function studies, toxin detection, biosensors, antitoxins and neutralization factors, toxinogenomics and expression studies, antimicrobial peptides from venoms and toxins, and PLA2 inhibitors as potential drug candidates for inflammatory diseases. The techniques he employs include quantum dots to toxinology, computational biology, microarrays, and protein chips. Prof. Gopalakrishnakone has more than 160 international publications, four books, about 350 conference presentations, and 10 patent applications. He has been an active member of the International Society on Toxinology (IST) for 30 years and was president from 2008 to 2012. He is also the founder president of its Asia Pacific Section, a council member, as well as an editorial board member of Toxicon, the society’s official journal. His research awards include the Outstanding University Researcher Award from the National University of Singapore (1998); Ministerial Citation, NSTB Year 2000 Award in Singapore; and the Research Excellence Award from the Faculty of Medicine at NUS (2003). His awards in teaching include Faculty Teaching Excellence Award 2003/4 and NUS Teaching Excellence Award 2003/4. Prof. Gopalakrishnakone also received the Annual Teaching Excellence Award in 2010 at both university and faculty levels.

Dr. Juan J. Calvete (Valencia, Spain, 1957) is research professor of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and head of the Structural and Functional Venomics Laboratory at the Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia. He studied biology at the University of Valencia, and earned his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from Complutense University (Madrid, 1985). Dr. Calvete completed post-doctoral training in protein chemistry and structural biology at the Banting Institute (Toronto, Canada, 1987), the Max-Planck-Institute fur Biochemie (Martinsried, Germany, 1988–92), and the Institut fur Reproductionsmedizin (Hannover, Germany, 1993–98) prior to assuming his current position in the Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia in 1998. Dr. Calvete has coauthored more than 380 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and monographic books, which have received over 13,600 citations according to the Google Scholar database. His current research focuses on structural and functional proteomics of snake venoms, having developed proteomics-based tool (“venomics” and “antivenomics”) for exploring the evolution, composition, interactions with antivenoms, and biotechnological applications of venoms and toxins. Since 2011, Dr. Calvete serves as president of the European Section of the International Society on Toxinology. Dr. Calvete has served as first president of the Spanish Proteomics Society (SEProt). Currently, he is an editorial board member ofToxicon, Journal of Venom Research, Toxins, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Proteomics.