Qlife Quantitative Biology Winter School "AI-Accelerated Design and Optimisation of Compunds for Biological Applications"
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Master in Life Science, ENS
BIO-Q-Qlife Winter School | AI-Accelerated Design and Optimisation of Compounds for Biological Applications
Year and Semester: M2 | S2
Where: Biology department, ENS
Duration: 1 week (February 9th -13th, 2026)
Credits: 3 ECTS
Maximum class size: 25 students
This course is open to external students ->Contact
Coordination
Patrick Charnay, ENS Biology Department, France
Chairman of the scientific committee:
Ilaria Ciofini, Chimie ParisTech PSL, France
Gilles Gasser, Chimie ParisTech PSL, France
Course prerequisites
Basic experience in file manipulation under Unix/Linux and coding ability in Python or R. Attendance is competitive (25 participants) and open to M2 and PhD students, postdocs, engineers and junior scientists with backgrounds in chemistry, life science, physics, computer science and mathematics. Knowledge or experience in the fields of design and optimisation of compounds is recommended.
Course objectives and description
Aims and themes: Recent technological developments in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and computational approaches have enabled in-silico design of compounds for medicinal and biological purposes with unprecedented speed and precision. The Qlife program in Quantitative Biology of the PSL University organizes a 5-day Winter School that will cover these cutting-edge approaches through a series of introductory lectures in the mornings, followed by digital workshops in the afternoons. Evenings will feature keynote speaker seminars and poster presentations by the students. The aim of this Winter School is to provide the attendees with a basic set of skills in different areas, including AI, TD-DFT, medicinal chemistry, photochemistry and chemical biology, with a clear emphasis on practical examples and guidance from experts in the field.
Organisation: Each day will include two introductory lectures in the morning, followed by computer tutorials in the afternoon. The evenings will include keynote speaker seminars and poster presentations by the students.
Common lunches and dinners with the speakers and instructors will foster informal discussions.
Assessment of M2 students
After the course, students requiring a mark will write a written report on two of the computer tutorials, which will be assessed by the instructors.
Course material
The course will include introductory lectures, a series of hands-on computer tutorials run by experts in the field, seminars from prestigious researchers. In poster sessions, the students will have the opportunity to present their research and to obtain feedback from teachers.
Application Deadline
January 4th, 2026
Registration fees
150 € (fees cover lunches from Monday to Friday and some dinners).
Application procedure
Register through this link
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/cmYTdzpVgD
In addition, provide a CV, a motivation letter and a supporting letter from a supervisor as a single pdf file with “Qlife AI-accelerated Design WS2026_LASTNAME” as subject header to qlife.events at psl.eu
Speakers and Instructors
Davide Avagliano, Paris
Victor Batista, New Haven
Sophie Bombard, Orsay
Sylvestre Bonnet, Leiden
Ilaria Ciofini, Paris
Fernanda Duarte, Oxford
Angelo Frei, York
Gilles Gasser, Paris
Sherri McFarland, Arlington
Thijs Stuyver, Paris
Marta Vallejo, Edinburgh