SASUF Goes Digital: 2020 Edition

As a way of knowledge transfer and capacity development, the events which will involve hands-on training on computational tools to screen hits for identification of small molecule targets of therapeutic significance, and presntations on burden of diseases in South Africa and Sweden. These activities will also be employed to foster research engagements, strengthening of international prospects of emerging researchers and pave way for further collaborative works as contained in SDG 17. The programme will involve experts in computational science and last for a whole day. The outcomes of the event would be vital in fostering new collaborative engagements, while contributing to improvement in overall health management systems.


Keywords: Infectious and non-infectious diseases, Molecular dynamics, Molecular docking, Enzyme kinetics, Capacity building

8:45 Registration
9:00-9:05 Prof. S. Moyo (Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Innovation and Engagement, DUT), Opening/Welcoming remarks
9:05-9:25 Dr. Sabiu Saheed (DUT, South Africa), CYP3A4 isoform as key target for drug-drug interaction of therapeutic compounds
9:25-9:50 Prof. Shode Francis (DUT, South Africa), Exploration of Syzygium cordatum, Syzygium aromaticum, Warburgia salutaris, and Cajanus cajan for ethnopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals
9:50-10:15 Prof. Rajshekhar Karpoormath (UKZN, South Africa), Kinesin spindle protein (KSP), a potential anticancer target: design, synthesis and evaluation
10:15-10:40 Dr. Kehinde Idowu (UKZN, South Africa), Computational approaches to drug resistance investigations
10:40-11:00 Break
11:00-11:30 Dr. Vaibhav Srivastava (KTH, Sweden), Sustainable approaches for controlling Saprolegnia infections in aquaculture: from drug discovery to target characterization
11:30-12:00 Dr. Sanjiv Kumar, (KI, Sweden), Pol κ as predictive biomarker for MTH1 inhibitor (Karonudib) therapy for cisplatin resistant tumor
12:00-12:25 Dr. Muhammad Akhtar Ali (KTH, Sweden), Forward genetic screen to elucidate genes in anti-cancer drug resistance and cancer pathways
12:25-13:30 Lunch Break
13:30-14:00 Dr. N. Arul Murugan, (KTH, Sweden), Current status of Computational therapeutics development
14:00-14:20 Dr. Charuvaka Muvva, BiomAILS pvt ltd. Identification of lead compounds using autodock4.0 and autodock-vina
14:20-14:30 Break
14:30-16:00 Workshop on computational screening to identify lead compounds