MDPI’s Journal Cluster of Pharmaceutical Science Webinar | Drug Design in the AI Era, 4 May 2026

A welcome message from the webinar Chair:

It is our pleasure to host 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.

This webinar brings 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 at 3:00 p.m. CEST | 9:00 a.m. EDT | 9:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 878 8692 5680

Program:

Speaker/Presentation	Time in CEST
Prof. Dr. Osvaldo Andrade Santos-Filho & Prof. Dr. Bill J. Baker Chair Introduction	3:00–3:10 p.m.
Prof. Dr. Jose L. Medina-Franco Biologically Relevant Chemical Space: From Characterization to Predictive Modeling	3:10–3:30 p.m.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Tropsha Knowledge-Based and AI-Accelerated Approaches to Drug Discovery and Repurposing	3:30–3:50 p.m.
Q&A Session	3:50–4:05 p.m.
Closing of Webinar	4:05–4:10 p.m.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.

Webinar Chairs and Keynote Speaker:

Prof. Dr. Osvaldo A. Santos-Fihlo, Center of Health Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Modeling and Computational Structural Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
Prof. Dr. Bill J. Baker, Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, USA;
Prof. Dr. Jose L. Medina-Franco, DIFACQUIM Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Avenida Universidad 3000, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
Prof. Dr. Alexander Tropsha, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, USA.

Relevant Special Issues:

“Computer-Aided Drug Design and Molecular Synthesis”
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Osvaldo Andrade Santos-Filho and Dr. Arthur Eugen Kummerle
Manuscript submission deadline: 31 May 2026

“Marine Drug Discovery Powered by AI”
Guest Editor: Dr. Yin-Chu Wang
Manuscript submission deadline: 30 June 2026

“Advances in AI-Driven Drug Delivery Systems”
Guest Editors: Dr. Junhuang Jiang and Prof. Dr. Xin Pan
Manuscript submission deadline: 30 June 2026

“Computational Methods in Drug Development”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Yunjie Zhao
Manuscript submission deadline: 26 May 2026

“AI Use in Pharmacy and Pharmacy Education”
Guest Editors: Dr. Bernadette Cornelison and Dr. Christopher J. Edwards
Manuscript submission deadline: 31 July 2026