Foundations of Computer-Aided Drug Design

Discover how modern computing is transforming the pharmaceutical industry by accelerating the discovery of life-saving medicines. This course guides you through the foundational concepts of computer-aided drug design (CADD). You will transition from understanding basic biological targets to evaluating chemical compounds and predicting their drug-like properties using digital tools and computational workflows. What you'll learn: Understand the fundamental concepts of structure-based and ligand-based drug design; Analyze protein-ligand interactions and prepare molecular targets for docking; Perform virtual screening to identify potential active compounds from chemical libraries; Predict ADMET properties using computational models to evaluate drug safety and efficacy; Explore the role of machine learning and modern data-driven approaches in drug discovery. The curriculum begins with essential biochemistry and molecular modeling concepts before moving into practical docking strategies, pharmacophore mapping, and modern predictive workflows. Through written explanations and conceptual exercises, you will develop a solid grasp of the entire drug discovery pipeline. This course is designed for beginners, students in chemistry, biology, or pharmacology, and anyone interested in the intersection of computational science and medicine. No prior computational chemistry experience is required. Begin your journey into computational pharmaceutical discovery today.