The fifth edition of the Drug Design and Discovery program is multidisciplinary and focuses on understanding interactions between pharmacologically interesting targets and small molecules.

The program uses chemical, biophysical, and computational chemistry methods. Academics from CIVIS partner universities will deliver lectures and laboratory practical sessions that will prepare students with knowledge regarding various scientific approaches applied in each stage of the drug design and development process.

National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aix-Marseille University, Sapienza University, Autonomous University of Madrid, University of Tübingen, and University of Bucharest, will jointly deliver lectures and laboratory practical sessions. These sessions will provide students with knowledge of the various scientific approaches applied at each stage of the drug design and development process.

The physical mobility section of the BIP will take place between 15-19 June 2026, in Rome, Italy. During the one-week summer school, students will participate in lectures, seminaries, hands-on-courses and practical tutorials covering the following topics:

• New strategies to develop drugs for neurodegenerative diseases/ Methods to measure calcium - Tools for drug discovery - Prof. Maria F. Cano Abad, Facultad de Medicina, UAM
• Microbicidal versus antipathogenic strategies in antimicrobial drug discovery - Prof. Dr. Carmen Chifiriuc, UB
• Introduction to physiologically-based modelling - Prof. Florence Gattacceca, Faculty of Pharmacy, AMU
• Methods for the In vitro Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity - Prof. Dr. Luminita Marutescu, Faculty of Biology, UB
• NMR-based Metabolomics - Prof. Emmanuel Mikros, Faculty of Pharmacy, NKUA
• Practical Aspects in Molecular Docking -  Prof. Rino Ragno, Faculty of Pharmacy, SUR
• Extraction of Natural Compounds -  Prof. Rino Ragno, Faculty of Pharmacy, SUR
• The Versatility of Halogen Bonding/ Methods in CompChem - Choose wisely and apply with care! - Prof. Frank M. Böckler, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, UT
• Principles and Applications of Chalcogen Bonding/ Introduction Hands-on-Course: CompChem/ VS/ ML -  Dr. Markus O. Zimmermann, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, UT
• Gastroplus ADMET Predictor to Screen Gastro-intestinal Absorption and Metabolism Properties - Prof. Florence Gattacceca, Faculty of Pharmacy, AMU
• Extraction of essential oils in practice - Prof. Rino Ragno, Faculty of Pharmacy, SUR
• Practical Synthesis in Medicinal Chemistry - Prof. Sergio Valente, Faculty of Pharmacy, SUR
• Computational Chemistry/ Virtual Screening/ Machine Learning -  Dr. Markus O. Zimmermann, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, UT
• Molecular-Biophysics (Differential Scanning Fluorimetry/ Isothermal Titriation Calorimetry/ Fluorescence Polarization/ Crystallography) - Prof. Frank M. Böckler, Dept. of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, UT

The schedule of the physical part is:

Monday, 15 June 2026

• 08:30-09:00 - arrival at Sapienza
• 09:00-09:45 - R. Ragno & A. Mai: Opening Session
• 09:45-10:30 - A. Mai: Introduction to Epigenetic in Drug Design
• 10:30-11:15 - A. Mai: Epigenetic Drugs
• 11:15-12:00 - F. M. Böckler: The Versatility of Halogen Bonding
• 12:00-13:30 - lunch break
• 13:30-14:15 - M. O. Zimmermann: Principles and Applications of Chalcogen Bonding
• 14:15-15:00 - C. Chifiriuc: Microbicidal versus antipathogenic strategies in antimicrobial drug discovery
• 15:00-15.45 - L. Marutescu: Methods for the In vitro Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity
• 15:45-16:15 - coffee break
• 16:15-17:00 - M. F. Cano Abad: New strategies to develop drugs for neurodegenerative diseases
• 17:00-20:00 - welcome party

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

• 08:30-09:00 - arrival at Sapienza
• 09:00-09:45 - M.O.Zimmermann: Machine Learning Approaches - The Long Path to Artificial Intelligence
• 09:45-10:30 - F. M. Böckler: Methods in CompChem -Choose wisely and apply with care!
• 10:30-11:15 - S. Alibert: Translating molecular insight into therapeutic advances: AI-powered redesign of antibiotics against MDR bacteria
• 11:15-12:00 -S. Valente: Medicinal Chemistry in Action
• 12:00-13:30 - lunch break
• 13:30-15:45 - S. Valente: Medicinal Chemistry in Action
• 15:45-16:15 - coffee break
• 16:15-17:00 - S. Valente: Medicinal Chemistry in Action
• 17:00-22:00 - free dinner

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

• 08:30-09:00 - arrival at Sapienza
• 09:00-09:45 - F. Gattacceca: Introduction to physiologically-based Modelling
• 09:45-11:15 - F. Gattacceca: Gastroplus ADMET Predictor to Screen Gastro-intestinal absorption and metabolism properties
• 11:15-12:00 - C. Lambona & E. Fabbrizi
• 12:00 - free afternoon and dinner

Thursday, 18 June 2026

• 08:30-09:00 - arrival at Sapienza
• 09:00-09:45 - E. Mikros: NMR-based Metabolomics
• 09:45-10:30 - F. Fiorentino: Native mass spectrometry meets drug discovery: unravelling protein function and modulation
• 10:30-11:15 - C. Fraschetti: From Plant to Peak: Decoding Essential Oil Chemistry with GC/ MS
• 11:15-12:00 – R. Astolfi & L. Giuliani: Applications of Machine Learning Algorithm
• 12:00-13:30 - lunch break
• 13:30-14:15 - R. Ragno: Extraction of Natural Compounds
• 14:15-15:45 - R. Ragno, R. Astolfi, L. Giuliani, A. Robello, F.Pirozzi: Practical Extraction of Essential Oil
• 15:45-16:15 - coffee break
• 16:15-17:00 - R. Ragno, R. Astolfi, L. Giuliani, A. Robello, F. Pirozzi: Practical Extraction of Essential Oil
• 17:00-22:00 – free dinner & speaker’s dinner

Friday, 19 June 2026

• 08:30-09:00 - arrival at Sapienza
• 09:00-12:00 - student oral presentation (discussion)
• 12:00-13:30 - lunch Break
• 13:30-15:00 - student oral presentation (discussion)
• 15:00-15.45 - coffee Break
• 15:45-16:15 - feedback BIP & discussion with students
• 16:15-17:00 - internal meeting discussion
• 18:00-22:00 - social dinner

Saturday, 20 June 2026

• 09:00-12:00 - optional social program: visit to Foro Romano guided by Prof Paolo Carafa

The course will run online six hours per week (a total of 8 weeks), between 8 April - 29 May 2026:

Week 1

• Wednesday, 8 April, 
• • 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Frank M. Boeckler - From Charges to π‐systems: Classical Molecular Interactions – Familiar, yet still Surprising; Non‐Classical Molecular Interactions: New Tools, New Rules
• Friday, 10 April, 
• • 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Frank M. Boeckler - The Drug Discovery Process & Technologies ‐ Strategies, Issues, Costs, Outlook; Thermodynamics in Drug Discovery (in Hit2Lead / LeadOpt); Molecular Complexity & Fragment‐based Drug Discovery Hit‐to‐Lead optimization, Co‐optimizing Ligand Properties, Avoiding late Attrition

Week 2

• Wednesday, 15 April, 
• • 14:00‐15:30 CET: Dr. Miruna Stan - In Vitro Cell Culture Models and Evaluation of Drug Effects
  • 15:30‐17:00 CET: Neurodegenerative Diseases and Drug Discovery Prof. Maria Cano‐Abad                 
• Friday, 17 April, 
• • 14:00‐15:00 CET: Dr Gratiela Gradisteanu - Immunomodulation and Drug Impact on Cytokine Production and on the M1/M2 Macrophage Phenotype
  • 15:00‐17:00 CET: Prof. Luminita Marutescu - Evaluation Drug‐induced Responses in Cultured Cells at Specific Time Points (Cell Cycle Analysis and Apoptosis). Screening of Drug‐induced Reactive Oxygen Species Production in Leukocytes Subpopulations in Whole Blood (Ex‐vivo)

Week 3

• Wednesday, 22 April, 
• • 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Francois Devred - Microcalorimetry (ITC, DSC) and NanoDSF : Application to Anticancer Drugs Screening and Thermodynamic Characterization
  • 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Emmanuel Mikros - Introduction to NMR Spectroscopy and Related Screening Methods

Week 4

• Wednesday, 29 April, 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Florence Gattacceca - Pharmacokinetics in Drug Discovery and Development: Physiologically‐ based PK (PBPK) Models
• Thursday, 30 April, 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Sandrine Alibert - Facts and Principles in Drug Discovery and Development: the Molecular Drug Space Selection and Optimization

Week 5

• Wednesday, 6 May, 
• • 14:00‐17:00 CET: Prof. Antonello Mai - Introduction to Epigenetics and Related Drugs
• Friday, 8 May, 
• • 14:00‐17:00 CET: Prof. Sergio Valente - Synthesis Strategies to Prepare Epigenetic Small Molecules Modulators

Week 6

• Wednesday, 13 May, 
• • 14:00‐15:30 CET: Dr. Dr. Javier Blanco - Animal models for metabolism diseases
  • 15:30‐17:00 CET: Dr. Gratiela Gradisteanu - Animal Models (Ethical Considerations, Experimental Design, In vivo Analysis of Drug Effects)
• Friday, 15 May, 
• • 14:00‐15:30 CET: Dr. Maria del Carmen Ovejero Benito - New targets and potential drug candidates for refractory epilepsy
  • 15:30‐17:00 CET: Dr. Matthias Bauer - Fragment-based Approaches towards PROTAC Development and Free Energy Methods in Industry

Week 7

• Wednesday, 20 May, 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Allegra Via - Integrating Bioinformatics and Drug Design: Concepts, Tools, and Applications
• Friday, 22 May, 14:00-17:00 CET: Prof. Rino Ragno - Introduction to Ligand‐based Methods: Pharmacophore Modeling, (3D) QSAR

Week 8

• Wednesday, 27 May, 
• • 14:00‐17:00 CET: Prof. Rino Ragno - Introduction to Structure‐based Methods in Drug Design: Molecular Docking
• Friday, 29 May, 
• • 14:00‐15:30 CET: Prof. Markus Zimmermann - Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery
  • 15:30‐17:00 CET: Prof. Evangelos Terpos - Clinical Trials