We’re excited to invite you to the MAINFRAME Symposium on AI-Driven Small-Molecule Drug Discovery at Ateneu Barcelonès on March 18-19, 2026. Co-organized by Conscience in partnership with The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and local organizers at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), and the Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IRB), this two-day in-person symposium will bring together the global community working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational chemistry, and small-molecule drug discovery.
The symposium builds on Target 2035:LIGAND-AI, a major international initiative to generate ultra-large-scale open screening data for more than 2,000 human proteins, aiming to boost AI approaches for proteome-wide hit-finding and ultimately identify a small molecule for every human protein. The event will also serve as the launch of an exciting new initiative dedicated to establishing a comprehensive and adaptable framework for validating research and predictions on complex or emerging biological systems. Program details will be added to the event website as they become available.
This meeting will welcome leading industry scientists from pharma, biotech, and AI-driven drug discovery companies as well as trainees and researchers from across academia to present their work through posters and selected talks. With sessions dedicated to discussions around the CACHE Challenges and benchmarking and evaluation of AI models, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with the community and contribute to defining the challenges and opportunities that will shape the future of drug discovery.
Register by February 13 to benefit from the early-bird discount!
Program at a glance
Day 1
- Opening Keynote: Simone Fulle (Novartis)
- Generative AI and de novo drug design
- Foundational models in drug discovery
- The future of AI in drug discovery & success stories
- Improving hit finding with ultra-large-scale screening and AI
- Lessons from the CACHE Challenges
- Roundtable – MAINFRAME, Future benchmarking challenges and community involvement to better AI for small-molecule drug discovery
Day 2
- Benchmarking and evaluation of cutting-edge AI models
- Closing Keynote: Pat Walters (OpenADMET)
- Final discussion – Benchmarking challenges: problems and opportunities
- Hands-on workshop
Abstract submission
To foster dialogue across the entire community, posters and selected talks from submitted abstracts are a central part of the symposium. Approximately half of the program’s speaking slots will be selected from submitted abstracts, ensuring strong representation from trainees and early-career researchers alongside established leaders. The abstract submission deadline is February 13, 2026.
Reimbursement of travel expenses for CACHE Participants
Current Canadian CACHE participants (from CACHE Challenges 5, 6, and 7) may be eligible to claim reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses through the quarterly claims process for Ultimate Recipients (URs), in accordance with the applicable funding ratio. Please refer to your UR Agreement for further details, or contact our finance team if you have any questions about the claims procedure.
