Enabling chemical discovery through the lens of a computational microscope

Short description: With exascale computing power on the horizon, computational studies have the opportunity to make unprecedented contributions to drug discovery efforts. Steady increases in computational power, coupled with improvements in the underlying algorithms and available structural experimental data, are enabling new paradigms for discovery, wherein computationally predicted ensembles from large-scale biophysical simulations are being used in rational drug design efforts. Such investigations are driving discovery efforts in collaboration with leading experimentalists. I will describe our work in this area that has provided key insights into the systematic incorporation of structural information resulting from state-of-the-art biophysical simulations into protocols for inhibitor and drug discovery, with emphasis on the discovery of novel druggable pockets that may not be apparent in crystal structures.
Presenter: Dr Rommie Amaro, Director, National Biomedical Computation Resource, UCSD Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry