KEMRI Hosts Groundbreaking AI/ML Workshop to Power the Future of Drug Discovery in Africa

As the digital revolution continues to reshape global healthcare, the Institute positioned itself at the forefront by hosting a high-impact Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) workshop from 8th to 11th July 2025 in Nairobi.

Titled “AI2050: AI/ML Tools for Drug Discovery,” the four-day forum brought together experts and emerging scientists from across East Africa, spotlighting the transformative role of AI in accelerating drug discovery and redefining biomedical research across the continent.

Jointly organized by H3D Foundation and the Ersilia OpenSource Initiative, with KEMRI serving as the local host, the workshop drew a vibrant mix of seasoned scientists and rising researchers from across East Africa. With the aim of equipping participants with next-generation digital skills and methodologies essential for transforming drug discovery and development.

While officially opening the workshop, KEMRI’s Director General, Prof. Elijah Songok through a speech delivered by the Senior Principal Research Scientist at CBRD Dr. Luna Kamau, hailed the timing of the workshop, as it coincides with the Institute’s efforts in the last four years to set up a computational laboratory at the CTMDR which currently has three high powered computers. The computers are installed with software used for designing drugs and carrying out predictive computational modelling and machine learning workflows for drug discovery. The laboratory is supporting several drug discovery projects, that are currently on-going including several post-graduate students undertaking drug discovery projects.

“By leveraging AI technologies, KEMRI and the government at large will usher in a new era of innovation and excellence in healthcare provision to address the country’s healthcare challenges. Therefore, it’s important to promote digital literacy and portray AI as a complementary tool rather than a replacement to healthcare workforce. By making these innovations human-focused, transparent and capacity-building, we can unlock immense gains in healthcare provision nationwide” Prof. Songok stated.

Prof. Songok also acknowledged the efforts of the Research Scientists, Dr. Ruth Nyang’acha, PI of the project and organizer of the workshop Dr. Elizabeth Kigondu, and Dr. Edwin Murungi who played a critical role in the set-up of the laboratory at KEMRI.

In drug discovery, AI utilizes ML, a subfield focused on enabling systems to learn from data, predict outcomes, and generate outputs without explicit programming. Deep learning (DL), a sophisticated subset of ML, employs artificial neural networks with multiple layers to analyze complex, unstructured data and solve intricate problems. These AI/ML tools are applied across critical stages of drug development, including Target Identification, where AI accelerates the discovery of relevant biological targets in disease through advanced computational analysis of biological data sets.

During Lead Optimization, AI/ML is used to refine drug candidates by improving bioactivity, chemical properties, and structure, while ADME-Tox Studies utilizes AI-based evaluations to predict drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and potential toxicity. At High Throughput Screening (HTS), AI enhances assay systems to efficiently identify promising compounds from large libraries, while Drug Repurposing employs AI to find new therapeutic uses for existing compounds initially developed for different indications.

The daily programme included expert lectures, skills introductions, hands-on practical, and breakout sessions that enabled the participants to move smoothly from theory to practice. The highly interactive workshop also offered the participants the opportunity to engage in various activities and discussions with immense enthusiasm.

H3D Foundation was represented by the organization’s Programme Coordinator, Ms. Nicola Elliott-Wong, and CADD and AI/ML Investigator, Dr. Jason Hlozek. On the other hand, Ersilia was represented by the Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Gemma Turon and Co-Founder, Science and Technology Director, Dr. Miquel Duran-Frigola.

Other key figures that contributed greatly with enlightening presentations during the workshop were Dr. Peter Njogu, Dr. Eric Guantai, and Dr. Beatrice Njeri Irungu.

A key theme for the week was that AI in drug discovery is not just hype; it is a practical, accessible set of methods that can help in accelerating drug discovery by reducing the time and resources required for the process and increasing the success rate. This was seen in action through hands-on learning with the Ersilia Model Hub, which allowed everyone to test and deploy predictive models on real datasets. The participants also learned how good data and interpretability are essential for these tools to make a real impact.

Beyond the technical content, the participants were able to network and connect informally with the hope of forming new collaborations amongst themselves and with the facilitators.