MDPI's Journal Cluster of Pharmaceutical Science Webinar | Drug Design in the AI Era
the chairs
MDPI's Journal Cluster of Pharmaceutical Science Webinar
Drug Design in the AI Era
It is our pleasure to open this webinar on “Drug Design in the Artificial Intelligence Era”. We are living through a transformative period in pharmaceutical science, where artificial intelligence and advanced computational methods are reshaping how we identify targets, design molecules, and bring new therapies closer to patients.
Today we bring together two experts who are contributing to this rapidly evolving landscape. Their perspectives will highlight both the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead as we integrate AI more deeply into drug discovery.
Thank you all for being here. I hope this webinar inspires insightful discussion and new scientific connections.
Date: 4 May 2026
Time: 9:00 am EDT | 3:00 pm CEST
Webinar ID: 878 8692 5680
Meet the Event Chairs
Meet Our Speakers
Prof. Dr. Jose L. Medina-Franco
DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico City, Mexico;
Dr. Medina-Franco holds a BSc in Chemistry (1998, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a MSc and Ph.D. degree (2005, both from the UNAM). In 2005, Dr. Medina Franco joined the University of Arizona as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Prof. Gerald Maggiora and he was named Assistant Member at the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies in Florida in August 2007. In 2013, he conducted research at the Mayo Clinic. In 2014 he joined UNAM and now is Full Time Research Professor. He leads the DIFACQUIM research group at UNAM. The research focus is on chemoinformatics, molecular modeling and artificial intelligence with applications on epigenetic targets and natural products.
Dr. Medina-Franco is a member of the National Researcher System, National Council of Science and Technology in Mexico with the highest level. In 2017 he was named Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK). He has been an Invited Professor at Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Japan, and France.
Dr. Medina Franco has published over 340 peer-reviewed papers, 25 book chapters and issued one international patent. He has edited four books. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design and serves as Editorial Board Member of several journals including Drug Discovery Today, Chemical Sciences, Journal of Cheminformatics, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, and Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery.
Since 2007 he has been PI in several research grants. Dr. Medina-Franco has supervised the research of 11 postdoctoral fellows, 23 graduate, and 30 undergraduate students.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Tropsha
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
PhD is K.H. Lee Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and the Research Fellow at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), UNC-Chapel Hill. He is also a member of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at UNC. Prof. Tropsha obtained his PhD in Chemical Enzymology in 1986 from Moscow State University, Russia. His main research interests are in the area of Data Science with applications to drug development, chemical safety predictions including computational and combinatorial NAMs methods, and materials science. He has authored or co-authored over 350 peer-reviewed research papers, reviews, and book chapters, and his studies have been supported by all major federal funding agencies in the US. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and a consultant to several technology and drug discovery companies.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
In this section, you will find the recordings of this webinar to watch, re-watch and share with your colleagues!
Scientia Pharmaceutica
Computer-Aided Drug Design and Molecular SynthesisComputer-Aided Drug Design and Molecular Synthesis
Edited by: Prof. Dr. Osvaldo Andrade Santos-Filho, Dr. Arthur Eugen Kummerle
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026
Marine Drugs
Marine Drug Discovery Powered by AI
Edited by: Dr. Yin-Chu Wang
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026
Pharmaceutics
Advances in AI-Driven Drug Delivery Systems
Edited by: Dr. Junhuang Jiang, Prof. Dr. Xin Pan
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026
Pharmaceuticals
Computational Methods in Drug Development
Edited by: Prof. Dr. Yunjie Zhao
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 May 2026
Pharmacy
AI Use in Pharmacy and Pharmacy Education
Edited by: Dr. Bernadette Cornelison, Dr. Christopher J. Edwards
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026