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UIPS International Seminar Programme

Dr. Tudor Oprea CEO Expert Systems Inc., San Diego CA, USA
Title: On the use of AI/ML for Drug Discovery

Friday 10 October 2025 from 10.30-11.30, David de Wied Building M2.01
Followed by a Roundtable with lunch on Drug Repurposing from 11.30-13.00, DDW M1.01
Registration for the workshop by mail to dr. Ed Moret, e.e.moret@uu.nl  

Short Bio:

Tudor I. Oprea, MD, PhD, is a digital drug hunter active in artificial intelligence and knowledge management for target and drug discovery. Three drugs he co-invented reached clinical trials, including R-ketorolac for ovarian cancer, and LNS8801, a first-in-class orphan drug designated in Phase 2/3 for uveal melanoma. His predictive models cover diseases, targets, and chemicals, with documented validation for novel target-disease associations and bioactive molecules for GPCRs, transporters, and enzymes. He has made significant contributions to disease and chemical biology: systems chemical biology, lead-likeness, temporal disease trajectories, and a knowledge-based classification of human proteins. He co-created DrugCentral and Pharos, two open-source platforms. Oprea is now CEO at Expert Systems Inc. (San Diego, CA) and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UNM Health Sciences Center (Albuquerque, NM).

Access his Google Scholar profile at .

Abstract: 

Expert Systems (ExSys) is building a state-of-the-art platform for small-molecule-based drug discovery models that combines public and proprietary cheminformatic tools and machine learning (ML) algorithms. These ML models are integrated in an Artificial Intelligence (AIML) platform that supports a wide variety of models for, e.g., target-based bioactivity, ADME properties, and tissue distribution. Our ML models are proactively developed to integrate New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), with focus on validated data and validated ML models to help reduce or replace animal studies while benefiting early drug discovery. At present, NAMs are subject to rapidly evolving regulatory expectations as the demand for integrated, predictive, human-centered methods is increasing.

This talk will briefly describe applications of the ExSys platform in oncology, neurodegenerative diseases and drug repurposing. Pitfalls of the AIML methodologies in drug discovery will also be addressed.