At the invitation of Professor Yu Haijia, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Researcher Kong Ren from the Institute of Bioinformatics and Pharmaceutical Engineering of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology held a seminar entitled ‘Algorithm-driven Innovative Drug Discovery Research’ in the circular conference room on the third floor of Xingzhi Building, Xianlin Campus of Nanjing Normal University on December 20, 2024. The lecture was hosted by Professor Yu Haijia, with the active participation of teachers and graduate students in related fields of the college.

In the beginning of the report, Researcher Kong Ren introduced the current situation of deep learning algorithms, pointing out the current misunderstanding of algorithm prediction. Also she put forward the view that algorithm models guide the rational design of molecules and pointed out the advantages of algorithms in accelerating drug discovery. Next, she introduced the CoDock, CoDock-PP and other algorithms developed by her research team, and shared with everyone the research ideas and advantages of algorithm-driven new methods in predicting the structure of PROTAC ternary complexes, design ideas for degrading protein molecules, and virtual screening of NSD3. Finally, Researcher Kong Ren shared with the AI-driven one-stop biological computing platform established by her team, as well as her outlook on the future "computation plus experiment" to empower scientific research methods in the field of life sciences.

After the report, the teachers and students at the meeting had a lively exchange and discussion around the content of the report. Researcher Kong Ren answered the questions raised by everyone in detail. This report broadened the research ideas of teachers and students on algorithm prediction of drug development and further stimulated everyone's interest and enthusiasm in scientific research.