On 9 July, Newcastle University hosted a Chemical Probes Hackathon, bringing together PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and academic staff from Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, for a day of collaborative learning focused on the evaluation of chemical probes used in biomedical research.
During the Hackathon – supported by Newcastle University, Durham University, the MoSMed CDT, and EPSRC – participants then took part in a hands-on review exercise, assessing the quality of chemical probes and learning how to critically evaluate the evidence supporting their use. Working alongside experts from the Chemical Probes Portal, attendees developed practical skills in data interpretation, critical appraisal and research best practice.
Alongside the hackathon, Dr Susanne Müller-Knapp of Goethe University gave a seminar the day before, which explored the development of chemical probes for kinases, E3 ligases and other protein targets. The talk highlighted how advances in chemical biology, computational drug discovery, and AI are helping to accelerate the search for new medicines.
Among the attendees were 19 PhD students, who took up this opportunity to gain training and networking opportunities. The hackathon also enabled all attendees to gain a stronger understanding of chemical probe selection, reporting standards and the importance of rigorous evaluation, while also benefiting from the opportunity to work collaboratively with researchers from different scientific backgrounds.
Special thanks to Craig Hinds for his help organising the event, as well as the Newcastle University SAgE People’s Fund for funding the refreshments for our researchers!
Read more about the Newcastle Chemical Probes Hackathon here.
