Introducing the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Drug Discovery and Development (AICD3)
- November 27, 2023
A new, one-year program expected to begin in fall 2024 offers students with a bachelor’s degree an exciting opportunity to complete a master’s degree that is highly complementary their PharmD, giving them a competitive edge for today’s most desirable jobs in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry.
The MS AI-CD3 is the first program of its kind in the United States. It empowers students to apply computer science, data science, statistical analysis, machine learning, and other data-driven methods to the discovery and development of new drugs, and to therapies for diseases that desperately need a cure.
“Everything is becoming more computational,” said Director of Postgraduate Education Programs Joanne Chun, PharmD, PhD. “People in industry already recognize the talent and training at UCSF, but we have to take it a step further to create a pipeline—a bridge—between academia and industry.”
According to Chun, students will learn about not only different computational tools but also sources for the storage, management, analysis, and modeling of drugs. Hands-on workshops will enable students to apply different computational programs used for designing novel drugs, tools for systematically assessing potential lead candidates, and the development of digital repositories for studying chemical interactions. Workshops will focus on R and Python programming languages.
The new program reflects the interdisciplinary training that is a hallmark of UCSF’s approach to research, with in-demand, new skills that are leading to transformational changes occurring in the range of roles a PharmD can pursue.
