EU-OPENSCREEN AUTUMN TRAINING SCHOOL 2026

We're delighted to announce the sixth edition of our annual AUTUMN ONLINE TRAINING SCHOOL!

Are you curious about the latest tools and trends shaping the future of early-stage drug discovery? 

EU-OPENSCREEN is inviting you to our Autumn Online Training School on Early Drug Discovery. The event will take place from 03–05 November 2026. It will be three inspiring days packed with cutting-edge science, practical know-how, and expert insights.

This training school is for you if you are an early-career researcher, a data scientist or interested in early-stage drug discovery. It offers a unique opportunity to gain new  insights and connect with leading experts in the field. All sessions can be attended comfortably from your own screen.

Participation fee: free of charge

Registration: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/SHzD2Y6gZk

We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting and insightful training school this autumn!

Schedule

Day 1 - Tuesday, November 3, 2026

9:20 - 09:30

Welcome and Introduction

Session 1

Foundations of Drug Discovery Part I

Chair: Philip Gribbon

Director General, EU-OPENSCREEN

9:30 - 10:00

EU-OPENSCREEN Services

Philip Gribbon

Director General EU-OPENSCREEN ERIC

10:00 - 10:45

Assay development and optimization

Jose Brea

Head of HTS Unit BioFarma Research Group, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain

10:45 - 11:00Break (15')

11:00 - 11:45

Target Product Profiles in Drug Discovery

Sheraz Gul

Head of Innovation Area Drug Screening & Compound Repurposing, Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology, Germany

11:45 - 12:30

The European Chemical Biology Database

Ctibor Skuta

Head of the cheminformatics & software development unit at CZ-OPENSCREEN, Czech Republic

12:30 - 13:15Lunch Break (45')

Session 2

Data and AI transforming the discovery pipeline

Chair: Christopher Schmied

Lead Data Scientist, EU-OPENSCREEN

13:15 - 14:00

Using an AI-driven approach to design better cell models and smarter assays for early drug discovery

Samantha Barichievy

Senior Director Reagents & Assays Sweden at AstraZeneca

14:00 - 14:45

AI in antibiotic drug discovery

Gemma Turon

Co-founder and Executive Director, Ersilia Open Source Initiative

14:45 - 15:15

Closing Day One

Chair / Organising Committee

 

 

Day 2 - Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Session 3

Foundations of Drug Discovery Part II

Chair: Tbd

09:20 - 09:30

Introduction Day 2

Chair:Organising Committee

EU-OPENSCREEN

09:30 - 10:15

From Models to Medicines: Advanced Cell Systems for Drug Screening

Rosario Fernandez Godino

Head of Screening & Target Validation-Drug Discovery, Fundación MEDINA, Spain

10:15 - 11:00

Fragment Based Drug Discovery

Harald Schwalbe

Instruct-ERIC Director

11:00 - 11:15Break (15')

11:15 - 12:00

Proximity-Induced Therapeutics: Insights and Examples from PROXIDRUGS

Johanna Huchting

Scientist , Fraunhofer ITMP, Hamburg

12:00 - 12:45

Antiviral Drug Discovery: From Screening to Candidate

Vincenzo Summa

Full Professor Medicinal Chemistry, University of Napoli

12:45 - 13:30Lunch Break (45')

Session 4

Addressing Global Health Challenges

Chair: Bahne Stechmann

Deputy Director, EU-OPENSCREEN

13:30 - 14:15

Beyond Essentiality: Prioritising Vulnerable Targets for Infectious Disease Drug Discovery

Lauren Coulson

Chief Investigator, Enzymology & Target-based drug discovery

14:15 - 15:00 

Challenges and opportunities in drug discovery for neglected infectious diseases

Luiza Cruz

Discovery Manager, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

15:00 - 15:30

Closing Day Two

    

   

Day 3 - Thursday, November 5, 2026

Session 5

Foundations of Drug Discovery Part III

Chair: Tbd

09:20 - 09:30

Introduction Day 3

09:30 - 10:15

High content screening: From aquisition to analysis

Christopher Schmied

Lead Data Scientist, EU-OPENSCREEN

10:15 - 11:00

Chemoproteomic Characterisation of Small Molecule Degraders

Stephanie Wilhelm

Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics, Technical University of Munich

11:00 - 11:45

Discovery of TDP-43 Modulators

Ana Martinez

Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas (CSIC), Spain

11:45 - 12:00Break (15')

Session 6

Navigating Research Funding

Chair: Philip Gribbon

Director General, EU-OPENSCREEN

12:00 - 12:45

Research Funding in Practice: Finding Opportunities and Developing Strong Proposals

Bahne Stechmann

Deputy Director, EU-OPENSCREEN

12:45 - 13:00

Q&A

13:00 - 13:15

Closing Remarks and Participant Survey

Organising Committee

EU-OPENSCREEN