Workshop for Drug Hunters

The II Workshop for Drug Hunters is an international scientific meeting focused on modern strategies for drug discovery and development, integrating computational and experimental approaches for the identification, design, and optimization of novel therapeutic molecules. The event will take place from August 26 to 28, 2026, at the CSA Campus of the Federal University of São João del-Rei (UFSJ), Brazil.

Following the success of the I Workshop for Drug Hunters, which promoted productive scientific discussions and new research collaborations, the second edition will combine keynote lectures, technical discussions, and hands-on activities in areas such as medicinal chemistry, molecular modeling, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, and rational drug design.

The scientific program will feature researchers from leading Brazilian institutions — including UFSJ, CEFET-MG, UEFS, UFRJ, UFMG, UFLA, and UFJF — as well as international collaborators from Dublin City University (Ireland) and Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Topics will include artificial intelligence in drug discovery, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, ADMET prediction, structural bioinformatics, and translational applications in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research.

The workshop will also offer practical tutorials and hands-on sessions involving computational platforms, molecular modeling workflows, and AI-based approaches used in modern pharmaceutical research.

In addition, the journal Drug and Drug Candidate from MDPI will organize a special issue dedicated to the event. Participants will have the opportunity to submit their research contributions, and the best works presented during the workshop may be published free of charge.

MDPI is a leader in the transition to open science by making more research free and accessible to everyone. Over 4.5 million researchers have entrusted us with publishing their scientific discoveries.

Our aim is to ensure that high-quality research is verified and made available to the research community as quickly as possible. MDPI stands at the forefront of the open access movement, having launched its first online journal Molecules in 1996. Today, MDPI is a leader in open access publishing with more than 517 journals across all research disciplines. Every article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

By integrating education, innovation, and collaborative science, the II Workshop for Drug Hunters aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research networks and contribute to the development of innovative therapeutic solutions for global health challenges.