QLS seminar by Daniel M. Shadrack - Hybrid meeting on 26 October 2021 at 15:00 CET

[Quantitative Life Sciences Section]

Dear All,

On Tuesday, 26 October at 15:00 CET, Daniel M. Shadrack  (St John’s 
University of Tanzania) will give a seminar titled:

"Computational Methods in the Discovery of Bioactive Natural Products"

Abstract:
Traditionally, drug design and development is quite lengthy, costly, and 
a challenging process. On average, it takes about 12–15 years, costing 
$2.6 billion for a new drug to the approval stage [1]. The approval rate 
of new drugs to enter clinical market is only 12% [1]; unfortunately, 
some drugs are banned from clinical uses due to undesirable 
pharmacokinetic profiles. On the other hand,  natural products are safe 
and have served human life as medications for centuries. In Tanzania, a 
number of naturally derived compounds and extracts have been tested or 
used as potential remedies against many diseases including COVID-19. 
Understanding their mode of action is an important step in drug 
discovery and development. Recent advances in computational power and 
methods have accelerated the process of drug design, discovery, and 
development, by studying mode of action, pharmacological, biological, 
and pharmacokinetic properties of lead molecules before entering 
pre-clinical or clinical trials [2-4]. Computational approaches help in 
identifying molecules demonstrating both drug-like and undesirable 
properties at an early stage, hence reducing both time and cost related 
to drug development. In this talk, the application of different 
computational methods applied in the discovery of bioactive natural 
products will be discussed. First, the talk will discuss various classes 
of natural products and their biological activities. Then, different 
computational methods used in the study of natural products will be 
discussed. Finally, the discovery of potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 natural 
products currently in clinical trial will be highlighted, among others.

Indico: http://indico.ictp.it/event/9737/

The seminar will take place as a mixed online and in presence meeting.

In presence attendance will be possible provided that visitors have a EU 
Digital COVID Certificate, or are in possession of a negative rapid 
antigen test (within the previous 48 hours) or PCR test (within the 
previous 72 hours).

Zoom Meeting ID to attend the online seminar: 475-819-702
Join Zoom Meeting:https://zoom.us/j/475819702 <https://zoom.us/j/475819702>

If you haven't registered for previous QLS webinars, please contact 
qls at ictp.it to obtain the password for this zoom meeting.

-- 
Erica Sarnataro
Group Secretary
Quantitative Life Sciences
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
Trieste,  Italy
Tel. +39-040-2240623
www.ictp.it/research/qls.aspx
e-mail:qls at ictp.it