DMCCB Newsletter #26 December 2023
An eventful year 2023 is coming to an end in which the DMCCB was quite active in (co-)organizing events starting with the DMCCB Basel Symposium in February, followed by the LS2 Annual meeting, the Peptide Therapeutics Forum and the International Symposium on Chemical Biology (EFMC-ICSB) which took place earlier this month in Basel. In 2024 we are looking forward to the organization of two educational events, the Swiss Summer School in Chemical Biology which will take place for the first time in Bergün (Graubünden) and the already well-established Swiss Course on Medicinal Chemistry in Leysin (Vaud). The DMCCB Basel Symposium 2024 promises also to be very interesting as it will focus around topics of computational drug design and artificial intelligence in drug discovery. The winners of the newly created DMCCB PhD Award will also be presented at the Symposium
On the following pages of this Newsletter you will also be able to find out about more events organized by the DMCCB and EFMC
Your DMCCB
News from the DMCCB
Jennifer Müller (ETH Zurich) and Lukas Schneider (University of Basel) are the winners of the 2023 DMCCB PhD Award
Jennifer studied Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Basel. After her Master thesis she moved to ETH Zurich to conduct her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Karl-Heinz Altmann. Currently she is holding a postdoctoral position in the group of Prof. Matthew Gaunt at the University of Cambridge (UK). She receives the award for her outstanding PhD thesis “Synthesis of Tyrosine- and Tryptophan-based LAT1 Inhibitors as Potential Antitumor Agents” which resulted in several publications as first author.
Lukas studied Chemistry at the University of Basel. After his Master thesis he stayed in Basel and joined the group of Prof. Dennis Gillingham to work on DNA-encoded libraries. Currently he is still working in the Gillingham group as postdoctoral researcher. He wins the Award for his excellent PhD thesis entitled “A novel selection approach for DNA-encoded libraries using Terminal deoxynucleotidyl Tarnsferase”. Parts of his work were recently presented at the 11th International DEL Symposium and published in the J. Am. Chem Soc. where they were received with great excitement by the community.
The Awards will be presented at the DMCCB Basel Symposium 2024 .
For more DMCCB community news please also check the SCS website and follow us on LinkedIn
Activities of the DMCCB/SCS
The DMCCB Basel Symposium 2024. «Therapeutics by Computational Design: Innovations in Drug Discovery and AI». The goal of this one-day symposium is to stimulate a stronger cooperation among persons working in different areas of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. Scientists from applied and fundamental research, from industry, education, and regulation are welcome. The symposium will take place on February 12, 2024 from 9:00 to 17.30 at the University of Basel (Lecture Hall U1.131, Biozentrum, Spitalstrasse 41). Please visit the event’s website for the list of confirmed speakers, registration (free for SCS members) and other details..
The LS2 Annual Meeting 2024: The LS2 Annual Meeting brings together scientists from all nations and backgrounds to explore the large spectrum united under the umbrella of Life Sciences. The Topic of the 2024 edition is “Exploring the Wonders of Life”. This two-day meeting will take place February 14/15 at the University of Lausanne (Quartier Centre, 1015 Lausanne). For a detailed program and registration check out the event’s website.
Swiss Biotech Day 2024: In 2024, the Swiss Biotech Day will again offer high-level experts from the life sciences industry the space and the time (one and a half days) to network, discuss and discover trends in R&D, manufacturing, data management, artificial intelligence and innovative financing. The event will take place from April 22 - 23, 2024 at the Congress Center Basel. For more information check out the event’s website.
SCS Conference on Stereochemistry 2024 (Bürgenstock Conference): The ‘SCS Conference on Stereochemistry’, better known as the Bürgenstock Conference, is an outstanding international chemistry meeting of high scientific quality, with an optimal setting for intense inter-disciplinary discussion. It will take place from April 28 - May 02, 2024 at the Hotel Waldstätterhof. Participation is upon invitation only. More information will be published on the event’s website soon.
The Peptide Therapeutics Forum 2024 will take place from August 22-23, 2024 at the Biozentrum Basel. The event provides an innovative platform to exchange on the various aspects of drug development with a focus on peptides. Similar to previous events in the framework of Basel Life, presentations highlight important new insights regarding the drug discovery of peptides including examples of successful development candidates. This forum disseminates information on the latest news in the broad field of therapeutic peptides and enables networking of interested parties from academia and industries. Deadline for Registration is August 11, 2024. More details can be found on the event’s website.
Swiss Summer School 2024 on Chemical Biology: The Swiss Summer School in Chemical Biology aims to provide PhD students, Post-Docs and industrial scientists from Switzerland and abroad with an interactive seminar week in beautiful alpine settings to expand their scientific horizon with latest developments, present their own work as posters and short presentations, and interact with speakers from Academia and Industry for networking and career development. It will take place from August 25 - 29, 2024 in Bergün (Graubünden). For more information check out the event’s website.
SCS Fall Meeting 2024: The SCS Fall Meeting 2024, is one of the largest annual research conferences held in Switzerland and offers a unique opportunity for all members of the community to share the results of their research initiatives and to connect with each other. It will take place on September 5, 2024 from 9:00 to 18.30 at the University of Fribourg (Department of Chemistry). More information will be posted soon on the SCS website.
Ilmac Lausanne 2024: llmac has its origins in the Swiss trade fair for international laboratory, measurement technology and automation in chemistry, which has been taking place since 1959. Today, the chemical and life science brand connects the industry both physically and digitally. With the performance promise "Inspiring the Future of Chemistry and Life Sciences", it encourages the development of new ideas and solutions and presents trends and innovations by research and industry in important locations such as Basel and Lausanne. SCS, as the initial founder of the fair, is partnering with Messe Schweiz and coordinates the collaboration with society partners and the Universities of Applies Sciences. It is also the official organizer of the ILMAC Forum activities. It will take place on September 18-19, 2024 from 9:00 to 16.30 at the Expo Beaulieu Lausanne. Registration is mandatory. With the SCS PrioCode (available as of June 2024) you can get your ticket for free. Please register then via the ilmac.ch website.
Swiss Course on Medicinal Chemistry 2024. This five-day Medicinal Chemistry School that is organized by the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology of the SCS will focus on most modern aspects associated with small molecule drug discovery. It will take place from October 13 - 18, 2024 in Leysin (Vaud). Detailed information will be published soon on the event website.
Activities & events from the European Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC)
EFMC-ISMC 2024: the XXVIII EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry: The biennial EFMC-ISMC is a key symposium in the field of medicinal chemistry and chemical biology in drug discovery. It traditionally attracts around 1.000 participants from both industry and academia. This event is taking place from September 1- 5, 2024 in Rome, Italy and is organized by the Division of Medicinal Chemistry of the Italian Chemical Society (Divisione di Chimica Farmaceutica – Società Chimica Italiana, DCF-SCI) on behalf of the EFMC. The programme includes plenary lectures by Nobel Laureate Prof. David MacMillan (Princeton University, Princeton, USA), Prof. Véronique Gouverneur (Univ. of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom), Mr Jacob Bradbury (Univ. of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom) and Dr. Emma Parmee (Janssen Research & Development, Spring House, USA). Visit the event’s website for registration and further details.
EFMC-Young Medicinal Chemists Symposium 2024: The 11th edition of this symposium will be held in Rome, Italy from September 5 - 6, 2024 and will be organised by the European Federation for Medicinal chemistry and Chemical biology (EFMC) and the EFMC Young Scientists Network (YSN). The event will be organised in connection with the XXVIII EFMC International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC-ISMC 2024). Further information can be found on the event’s website.
EFMC | ACSMEDI Medicinal Chemistry Frontiers: This symposium will take place from April 8- 11 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It is co-organised as a collaboration between the EFMC, European Federation for Medicinal chemistry and Chemical biology, and ACS MEDI, the division of Medicinal Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. It attracts a highly targeted audience composed of experts, researchers and early career trainees in drug discovery and development, in particular medicinal and synthetic chemists, together with scientists active in the fields of computer assisted drug design, biology, DMPK, pharmacology, and early toxicology. Visit the event’s website for the detailed programme and registration
Did you know?
EFMC Job Portal
If you have an open position in your group, take advantage of the EFMC job portal: The posting of Job/PhD & Post-Doc offers is free for any medicinal chemistry or chemical biology related jobs, in industry and academic positions. – it’s very easy to reach the whole community by providing the link to the original job offer under EFMC Submit a job.
The assembled material is available in several formats: freely accessible webinars on the EFMC youtube channel, educational slide decks and case studies. These will be made freely accessible for personal use or for use in further training or teaching material. More information can be found here.