Korea AI Center for Drug Discovery and Development (KAICD) said Wednesday that it would recruit expert instructors to develop and teach artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate drug discovery and practical cooperative research.
As an affiliated organization of the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA), KAICD seeks professional instructors to teach 48 courses, including 39 new courses in AI, bioinformatics, chemical information, and new drug development, the center said.
It added that university professors, researchers at biopharmaceutical companies, and AI companies with expertise in these fields could serve as lecturers.
The AI center plans to develop AI drug development courses that encompass theory and practice to create a customized syllabus restructured to the trainees' background knowledge and target duties.
An on-site demand survey conducted by the AI center found that researchers for new drug development do not understand AI and vice-versa, making their collaboration difficult. Furthermore, there was a significant lack of multidisciplinary talent encompassing AI and new drug development.
The AI center recruits more than six cooperative education or cooperative research organizations whereby the institution assists the trainees in implementing thesis or model development training through internships or seasonal schools.
The second type of collaborative research supports AI drug discovery collaboration between companies by providing mutual education opportunities between pharmaceutical and AI companies.
It plans to support research on drug candidate discovery using AI companies' artificial intelligence solutions and pharmaceutical companies' infrastructure. That in turn, will provide these companies with opportunities to validate solutions and discover new drug candidates.
"The ultimate goal of this project is to implement 'cooperative education,' an employment opportunity for trainees, and a talent discovery opportunity for the industry," a KAICD official said.