On 5th April 2024, over 60 researchers braved the train strikes and gusty weather to gather at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford and engage in a day full of scientific talks, posters and discussions on the topic of adaptive immune receptor (AIR) analysis!
I attended RSC Fragments 2024 (Hinxton, 4–5 March 2024), a conference dedicated to fragment-based drug discovery. The various talks were really good, because they gave overviews of projects involving teams across long stretches of time. As a result there were no slides discussing wet lab protocol optimisations and not a single Western blot was seen. The focus was primarily either illustrating a discovery platform or recounting a declassified campaign. The latter were interesting, although I’d admit I wish there had been more talk of organic chemistry —there was not a single moan/gloat about a yield. This top-down focus was nice as topics kept overlapping, namely:
And I wish I been out in California
Jagger & Richards
When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out
Festive conference blog here, dreaming of my December days in sunny California where I attended Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics 2023. Replete with Stones lyrics, Science and Sunset imagery. Hope y’all enjoy!
Continue readingLast month, a drift of OPIGlets attended the royal society of chemistry’s annual AI in chemistry conference. Co-organised by the group’s very own Garrett Morris and hosted in Churchill College, Cambridge, during a heatwave (!), the two days of conference featured aspects of artificial intelligence and deep machine learning methods to applications in chemistry. The programme included a mixture of keynote talks, panel discussion, oral presentations, flash presentations, posters and opportunities for open debate, networking and discussion amongst participants from academia and industry alike.
Continue readingBack in June this year, I went to Amsterdam to give a talk at “Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics Europe 2024”. I had a great time at the conference, and it presented many opportunities to gain some insights into research that is directly relevant to me, as well as research to broaden my horizons a little beyond the CDR loops. While I would love to go through all the fantastic talks, I’m opting to give some takeaways on only a subset:
Continue readingAt OPIG Group Meetings, it’s customary to give “Conference Feedback” whenever any of us has recently attended a conference. Typically, people highlight the most interesting talks—either to them or others in the group.
Having just returned from the 6th RSC-BMCS / RSC-CICAG AI in Chemistry Symposium, it was my turn last week. But instead of the usual perspective—of an attendee—I spoke briefly about how to organize a conference.
Continue readingWhen showcasing an approach in computational chemistry, an example molecule is required as a placeholder. But which to chose from? I would classify there different approaches: choosing a recognisable molecules, a top selling drugs, or a randomly sketched compound.
At a recent conference, Sheffield Cheminformatics 2023, I saw examples of all three and one problem I had that some placeholders distracted me into searching to figure out what it was.
Continue readingOver the next few days, researchers from around the world will be gathering in Sheffield for the 9th Joint Sheffield Conference on Cheminformatics. As one of the organizers (wearing my Molecular Graphics and Modeling Society ‘hat’), I can say we have an exciting array of speakers and sessions:
It has traditionally taken place every three years, but despite the global pandemic it is returning this year, once again in person in the excellent conference facilities at The Edge. You can download the full programme in iCal format, and here is the conference calendar:
Continue readingLast month, I had the privilege to attend the Keystone Symposium on Computational Design and Modeling of Biomolecules in beautiful Banff, Canada. This conference gave an incredible insight into the current state of the protein design field, as we are on the precipice of advances catalyzed by deep learning.
Here are my key takeaways from the conference:
Continue readingFrom 19th-22nd February I was fortunate enough to participate in the joint Keystone Symposium on Next-Generation Antibody Therapeutics and Multispecific Immune Cell Engagers, held in Banff, Canada. Now in their 51st year, the Keystone Symposia are a comprehensive programme of scientific conferences spanning the full range of topics relating to human health, from studies on fundamental bodily processes through to drug discovery.
Continue reading