Dr John Woodland

Junior Research Fellow

Affiliations

  1. Research Fellow, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine
  2. Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre
  3. Drug Discovery and Development Unit (H3D)
  4. South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit
  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town

Key Expertise

Drug Discovery, Drug Resistance, Malaria, Molecular Medicine

Main Research Focus

John is a chemical scientist interested in developing molecular strategies such as treatments and tools to tackle the scourge of infectious disease. His research interests include mode-of-action studies and target deconvolution of hit compounds active against the human malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum), the medicinal chemistry optimisation of noncovalent and covalent inhibitors of Plasmodium kinases, and the bioinorganic chemistry of malaria pigment formation. He is also interested in integrating aspects of machine learning into workflows at the H3D Centre to reduce compound attrition rates.

Most Significant Paper Authored in 2024

Ongoing Implementation and Prospective Validation of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Tools at an African Drug Discovery Centre.

Hlozek, J., Chibale, K., & Woodland, J. G. (2024).

Drug discovery is notoriously costly and risky; therefore, it is hoped that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will reduce attrition rates and accelerate drug discovery programmes, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Following our development of an end-to-end virtual screening cascade at the H3D Centre, the first of its kind in and on the continent, we reported the ongoing implementation of open-source AI/ML tools for use in resource-constrained settings. This Viewpoint article appeared as part of a virtual special issue entitled "Exploring the Use of AI/ML Technologies in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery".