Back to Home

Education Hub

Comprehensive learning platform for drug discovery - from beginner basics to expert-level systems biology

Master the complete drug discovery pipeline with curated video tutorials, hands-on exercises, and real-world case studies. Learn at your own pace from beginner to expert level.

Learning Modules

10

Video Tutorials

50+

Practical Examples

100+

External Resources

200+

Introduction to Drug Discovery

BeginnerFundamentals4 hours

Foundation course covering the drug discovery pipeline from target identification to clinical trials

Featured Video Tutorial

Drug Discovery and Development Process

Channel: Armando Hasudungan

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Drug discovery overview
  • Target identification
  • Hit-to-lead optimization
  • Preclinical studies
  • Clinical trial phases
  • Regulatory approval

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the complete drug discovery pipeline
  • Identify key milestones in drug development
  • Recognize challenges in bringing drugs to market
  • Understand success rates and timelines

Practical Examples

Analyzing FDA-approved drugs

Easy

Study the development timeline of 5 blockbuster drugs from discovery to market

Target selection exercise

Easy

Evaluate potential drug targets for Type 2 Diabetes using disease biology

Computational Drug Design Basics

BeginnerComputational Methods6 hours

Introduction to computer-aided drug design including molecular docking and pharmacophore modeling

Featured Video Tutorial

Introduction to Molecular Docking

Channel: ChemAxon

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Molecular modeling fundamentals
  • Structure-based drug design
  • Ligand-based drug design
  • Molecular docking
  • Pharmacophore modeling
  • ADMET prediction

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand computational drug design principles
  • Perform basic molecular docking
  • Create and use pharmacophore models
  • Predict drug-like properties

Practical Examples

Dock aspirin into COX-2

Easy

Learn molecular docking by reproducing the aspirin-COX-2 crystal structure

Build a pharmacophore

Medium

Create a pharmacophore model from known kinase inhibitors

Prerequisites: Basic chemistry, Introduction to Drug Discovery

Genomics for Drug Discovery

IntermediateOmics Sciences8 hours

Apply genomics to identify drug targets, understand disease mechanisms, and predict drug response

Featured Video Tutorial

Genomics in Drug Discovery

Channel: Genome British Columbia

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • GWAS for target identification
  • Whole genome sequencing
  • Variant calling and annotation
  • Pharmacogenomics
  • Cancer genomics
  • Rare disease genomics

Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze GWAS data for drug target discovery
  • Interpret genomic variants for drug response
  • Understand cancer driver mutations
  • Apply pharmacogenomics to precision medicine

Practical Examples

GWAS analysis for Alzheimer's

Medium

Identify genetic loci associated with Alzheimer's disease risk from GWAS data

Cancer mutation profiling

Medium

Analyze TCGA data to identify actionable mutations in lung cancer

Pharmacogenomics case study

Medium

Predict warfarin dosing based on CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotypes

Prerequisites: Genetics basics, Molecular biology

Machine Learning in Drug Discovery

AdvancedAI & Machine Learning12 hours

Apply deep learning and AI to predict drug properties, design molecules, and optimize lead compounds

Featured Video Tutorial

Deep Learning for Drug Discovery

Channel: MIT

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Neural networks for QSAR
  • Graph neural networks for molecules
  • Generative models for de novo design
  • Protein structure prediction (AlphaFold)
  • Drug-target interaction prediction
  • ADMET prediction with ML

Learning Outcomes

  • Build neural network models for drug property prediction
  • Use graph neural networks for molecular representations
  • Generate novel molecules with generative models
  • Predict protein structures and drug-target interactions

Practical Examples

QSAR model for solubility

Hard

Build a random forest model to predict aqueous solubility from molecular descriptors

GNN for bioactivity prediction

Hard

Train a graph convolutional network to predict kinase inhibitor activity

Generative molecule design

Very Hard

Use a variational autoencoder (VAE) to generate novel drug-like molecules

Prerequisites: Python programming, Machine learning basics, Chemistry fundamentals

Proteomics and Drug Target Validation

IntermediateOmics Sciences10 hours

Use proteomics to validate drug targets, understand mechanisms of action, and identify biomarkers

Featured Video Tutorial

Introduction to Proteomics

Channel: iBiology

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Mass spectrometry basics
  • Quantitative proteomics
  • Phosphoproteomics
  • Protein-drug interactions
  • Target engagement assays
  • Biomarker discovery

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand proteomics workflows
  • Analyze quantitative proteomics data
  • Validate drug targets with proteomics
  • Identify protein biomarkers for diseases

Practical Examples

Analyze TMT proteomics data

Medium

Identify differentially expressed proteins in cancer vs normal tissue

Drug target engagement

Hard

Use thermal proteome profiling to measure target engagement of a kinase inhibitor

Prerequisites: Biochemistry, Protein structure basics

Transcriptomics and Gene Expression Analysis

IntermediateOmics Sciences10 hours

Analyze RNA-seq data to identify dysregulated genes, pathways, and potential drug targets

Featured Video Tutorial

RNA-seq Analysis Explained

Channel: StatQuest

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • RNA-seq technology
  • Differential gene expression
  • Pathway enrichment analysis
  • Single-cell RNA-seq
  • Drug response signatures
  • Biomarker identification

Learning Outcomes

  • Process and analyze RNA-seq data
  • Identify differentially expressed genes
  • Perform pathway enrichment analysis
  • Discover drug response biomarkers

Practical Examples

DESeq2 analysis tutorial

Medium

Find differentially expressed genes in breast cancer RNA-seq data

Pathway enrichment with GSEA

Medium

Identify enriched pathways in drug-treated vs control samples

scRNA-seq clustering

Hard

Analyze single-cell RNA-seq to identify cell types in tumor microenvironment

Prerequisites: Molecular biology, Statistics basics

Clinical Trials and Drug Development

AdvancedClinical Development15 hours

Design clinical trials, analyze patient data, and navigate regulatory pathways for drug approval

Featured Video Tutorial

Clinical Trial Phases Explained

Channel: Osmosis

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Clinical trial design
  • Phase I/II/III trials
  • Patient stratification
  • Endpoint selection
  • Statistical analysis
  • FDA/EMA regulatory requirements
  • Real-world evidence

Learning Outcomes

  • Design appropriate clinical trial protocols
  • Select patient populations and endpoints
  • Analyze clinical trial data
  • Understand regulatory approval processes

Practical Examples

Design a Phase II trial

Hard

Create a trial protocol for testing a new cancer immunotherapy

Analyze survival data

Hard

Perform Kaplan-Meier analysis on cancer clinical trial outcomes

FDA submission case study

Very Hard

Review a real NDA submission and identify key components

Prerequisites: Statistics, Pharmacology, Drug discovery basics

Structural Biology for Drug Design

AdvancedStructural Biology12 hours

Use protein structures from X-ray, cryo-EM, and AlphaFold for structure-based drug design

Featured Video Tutorial

Protein Structure Determination

Channel: iBiology

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Protein structure determination
  • X-ray crystallography
  • Cryo-EM
  • NMR spectroscopy
  • AlphaFold predictions
  • Structure-based drug design
  • Fragment-based drug discovery

Learning Outcomes

  • Interpret protein structures for drug design
  • Use structural databases (PDB, AlphaFold DB)
  • Identify druggable binding sites
  • Design structure-guided molecules

Practical Examples

Analyze PDB structures

Medium

Examine the binding mode of FDA-approved drugs in their target proteins

AlphaFold for drug design

Hard

Use AlphaFold-predicted structures to design inhibitors for a novel target

Fragment-based screening

Very Hard

Identify fragment hits and grow them into lead compounds using structure

Prerequisites: Biochemistry, Protein structure basics

Systems Biology and Network Medicine

ExpertSystems Biology16 hours

Apply systems-level thinking to drug discovery using network analysis and multi-omics integration

Featured Video Tutorial

Introduction to Systems Biology

Channel: Systems Biology Ireland

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Biological networks
  • Protein-protein interaction networks
  • Gene regulatory networks
  • Metabolic networks
  • Network-based drug target identification
  • Multi-omics data integration
  • Systems pharmacology

Learning Outcomes

  • Construct and analyze biological networks
  • Identify drug targets using network topology
  • Integrate multi-omics data for systems understanding
  • Apply network medicine to precision therapy

Practical Examples

Build a PPI network

Hard

Construct a protein interaction network for a disease and identify hub proteins

Network-based drug repurposing

Very Hard

Use network proximity to identify repurposing candidates for COVID-19

Multi-omics integration

Very Hard

Integrate genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics for cancer subtype classification

Prerequisites: Omics sciences, Bioinformatics, Statistics

Metabolomics in Drug Discovery

IntermediateOmics Sciences8 hours

Apply metabolomics to discover biomarkers, understand drug metabolism, and identify off-target effects

Featured Video Tutorial

Introduction to Metabolomics

Channel: Metabolomics Society

Watch on YouTube

Topics Covered

  • Mass spectrometry for metabolomics
  • NMR metabolomics
  • Metabolic pathway analysis
  • Drug metabolism studies
  • Biomarker discovery
  • Toxicity prediction

Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze metabolomics data from LC-MS and NMR
  • Identify metabolic biomarkers for diseases
  • Study drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics
  • Predict drug toxicity from metabolite profiles

Practical Examples

Metabolite identification

Medium

Identify unknown metabolites from LC-MS/MS data using spectral libraries

Pathway enrichment

Medium

Perform metabolic pathway analysis on diabetes patient samples

Prerequisites: Biochemistry, Analytical chemistry basics