Quick Discovery
Short Courses
We have developed a series of short courses to allow groups of researchers to learn a specific set of skills or knowledge to further their own drug discovery research.
Descriptions of the courses can be found below. When the courses are open for applications, links to the required forms will be posted.
Please note, priority will be given to individuals working in countries that meet the criteria for official development assistance (OECD ODA list).
Synthesis Simplified (online)
OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
Knowing how to make molecules is vital for medicinal chemists, but how do we know where to start?
Over 4 weeks, we will build a solid understanding of the most popular reactions in medicinal chemistry, including when and how to use them. Using a mixture of interactive talks and workshops, this course will focus on organic synthesis for medicinal chemists.
- Amides, Esters and Protecting Groups
- Heterocyclic Synthesis
- Aromatic Substitution Reactions
- Cross-coupling and Metal-Catalysed Reactions
WHEN: 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd October 2026, 12:00-14:00 BST
LENGTH: 2 hr per day over 4 days
WHO: Applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in the field of chemistry/medicinal chemistry. Please note, only individuals working in academia are able to apply to this course.
PLACES: 12 places available
COST: The course will incur a registration fee of £50 per person. This fee will be waived if you work in a country that meets the criteria for official development assistance (OECD ODA list).
APPLY HERE: Course Application Online Applications close 14th August 2026, 17:00 BST
Drug Discovery Mission
Despite the drug discovery process taking ~15 years from idea to market, the Drug Discovery Mission (DDM) will ask you to cover most of this process in 1 week. By embedding yourself into a team of drug discovery scientists, you will be asked to find a cure/treatment for a neglected tropical disease. In order to succeed, you must work as a team to make critical analytical decisions and make conclusions on data presented to you.
DDM will ask you to step outside of your comfort zone by exposing you to all aspects of the pre-clinical drug discovery process. Topics include:
- Target product profiles and their role in unifying team goals
- Using biological data to drive compound design
- Physiochemical properties and guidelines to succeed in drug discovery
- In vitro drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and associated data
- Linking in vivo data to compound design
WHEN: TBC
LENGTH: 1 week, Sunday - Friday
WHERE: TBC
WHO: Applicants who are working in the field of chemistry/medicinal chemistry, in industry or academia.
PLACES: 25 places available
Practical Aspects of Drug Discovery
This programme has been designed to provide an overview of the entire drug discovery process, from screening and hit discovery, assay development, drug design through to an introduction to pre-clinical and clinical development.
With a mix of lectures, case-studies, and discussions, we focus on the need for drug discovery in specific regions and how these approaches can be applied in that regional context and environment.
WHEN: TBC
LENGTH: 1 week, Sunday - Friday
WHERE: TBC
WHO: Applicants who are working in any area of drug discovery, in industry or academia.
PLACES: 25 places available
DMPK 101 (online)
I have a potential drug but what happens next? The drug does not work when I dose it to an animal, why could that be? Along with clinical efficacy, compounds can fail to reach the clinic due to poor pharmacokinetic properties. The importance of understanding how well a drug can be dissolved, absorbed and metabolised can assist in understanding your in vivo data and whether your drug could cause the desired pharmacological response.
DMPK 101 will explore DMPK’s place in drug discovery by covering topics including:
• Drug absorption, metabolism and route to the systemic circulation
• The 3 Rs in animal testing
• Understanding pharmacokinetic data and what this means for your drug project
• Potential for toxicity and how to identify
WHEN: TBC
LENGTH: 3 hr per week over 6 weeks
WHO: Applicants who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in any field of pharmacology.
PLACES: 25 places available
Medicinal Chemistry 101 (online)
What does a medicinal chemist need to know about drug discovery? What contributions can this discipline make and how?
Medicinal Chemistry 101 is designed to give chemists working in medicinal chemistry, a flavour of the different stages of the drug discovery process. Drug Discovery is highly collaborative, expensive and time consuming but reaps rewards of single dose single cures, vaccinations, treatments etc. We highlight how to start and progress a drug discovery campaign with real life examples and you will learn how chemical matter can be progressed using chemical optimisation, in vitro and in vivo DMPK.
Over 6-sessions, you will be guided through a series of topics to give you an appreciation of all aspects of drug discovery research.
- Target assessment and screening
- Hit discovery and structure activity relationship
- In vitro/In vivo DMPK and strategies to optimise
- How to optimise pharmacokinetic properties
WHEN: TBC
LENGTH: 3.5-4 hr per day over 6 days
WHO: Applicants who are working in the field of chemistry/medicinal chemistry, in industry or academia.
PLACES: 25 places available
Target to Candidate (online)
What is a drug? How are drugs designed? How does a drug navigate in the body to its desired target? What is a drug target?
This course has been designed to give scientists, with the aim of working in drug discovery space, a flavour of how a drug project goes from idea to pre-clinical candidacy. Our course highlights how to start and progress a drug discovery campaign with real life examples from experts working in this area of science, both academia and industry. By utilising a series of interactive talks, workshops and tutorials, participants will learn the success, failures and challenges of drug discovery.
Throughout the course, the team will take you through a series of topics to give you an appreciation of all aspects of drug discovery research. After a brief introduction to drug discovery, you’ll be taught on the following subjects:
- Screening methods and technologies
- Hit validation and optimisation
- Structure-based drug discovery
- in vitro and in vivo DMPK
- Lead optimisation
- Mode of action
- Pre-clinical follow-up
WHEN: TBC
LENGTH: 3 hrs per day over 2 weeks.
WHO: Applicants who are who are PhD and early-stage researchers working in any field of drug discovery.
PLACES: 25 places available