Recently, Viva Biotech published a perspective titled "Breaking the Gender Imbalance: Female Presence in the Computational Chemistry Group at Viva Biotech." on the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (JCIM) of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Dr. Yue Qian, the Executive Director of Computational Chemistry and Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery (CADD and AIDD) Platform at Viva Biotech, is the first author. In this article, she highlighted the growing importance of computational chemistry and AI in drug discovery and the significant contributions made by female scientists in this field. The article shares personal experiences of the Viva CADD and AIDD platform and explores how female scientists can effectively increase their visibility and impacts at work, encouraging more women to pursue their passions in science.
(Image credit: ACS official website)
(Note: Article Supplementary Cover Page)
Standing at the forefront of innovation — Unique features of Viva's CADD/AIDD platform
With the advances in scientific methodologies, the rapid growth of computational power, and the accumulation of experimental data, the computational chemistry practices have evolved significantly. This evolution marks a transition from a retrospective approach to a more forward-looking, prospective analysis in drug discovery. Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence pushed the AI techniques beyond predicting propertied to discovering patterns and creating novel drugs. Such tools have become indispensable in various research and development stages and are fundamentally reshaping the traditional drug discovery philosophy. Therefore, the scope of CADD and AIDD expands to become an integrated field to guide the drug discovery process, placing research scientists in the driving seat.
At Viva Biotech, Dr. Yue Qian has established a team of talents that represents the fast-evolving scientific fronts and diverse demographic backgrounds. The diversified backgrounds in Computational Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Bioinformatics, Food Science, Medicine, and Biomedical engineering prepare the team with an interdisciplinary mindset, with which the dry-lab and wet-lab platforms collaborate internally to develop and deploy algorithms that address real-world drug design challenges. Keeping on top of the recent scientific advances, the team proactively improves the modeling methods through experimental validation and algorithm refinement. The Viva computational platform integrates a variety of cutting-edge computational technologies, covering the entire process from target prediction to lead optimization to pre-clinical candidate (PCC) stage. Some of the work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and the corresponding tools will be open to public in the near future.
Moreover, CADD/AIDD platform works closely with Viva Biotech's protein and structural biology platform, early drug discovery technology platform, biologics drug development platform, DMPK, medicinal chemistry, and synthetic chemistry departments to create an integrated wet- and dry- lab service model, accelerating the development of drug modalities such as small molecules, antibodies, peptides/cyclic peptides, and RNA-targeting small molecules. Known for its world-leading capabilities in structural biology and enhanced by the AIDD and CADD platforms, Viva fully embraces an AI-centric structure-based drug discovery strategy. In addition to the one-stop drug discovery service platform, Viva focuses on the understanding of the mechanism of action of drugs on new and challenging targets to enable rational drug design.
The ESG Practices Behind Viva's Innovation
The seamless collaboration within and between departments at Viva Biotech is attributed to the company's culture and the support system. Viva Biotech emphasizes inclusivity, encourages diversity, promotes gender equality, and provides comprehensive support to its employees. The open and inclusive corporate culture fosters a platform for employees to fully exploit their potential, offering more opportunities for discussion, learning, and career advancement. Employees' recognition of Viva's corporate culture further strengthens the company's existing traditions that we are proud of. Through these initiatives, Viva Biotech is not only driving technological innovation but also actively fulfilling its social responsibilities and ESG practices, contributing to the building of a more equitable and sustainable biopharmaceutical R&D ecosystem.
For more information, please refer to the full paper:
Qian Y, Li L, Liu Y, Zhao P, Xie Z. Breaking the gender imbalance: Female presence in the computational chemistry group at Viva Biotech. J Chem Inf Model 2024;64:6253–8.
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