Research summary
Designing new medicines often means finding the right molecules to target disease—and making sure they can work inside the body. Dr. Philip Kim, Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning in Protein and Peptide Science, is using machine learning to speed up this process.
Kim and his research team are creating advanced computer models to design macrocyclic peptides—a promising type of drug molecule—that have the right shape, chemistry and ability to enter cells. They are also developing new artificial intelligence–powered screening tools that can search for entirely new drug targets by testing huge libraries of molecules against disease-related proteins. This combined approach—designing drug candidates and discovering new targets—has the potential to significantly accelerate drug development, leading to more effective treatments for a wide range of diseases.