Recap Of The Collaborative Drug Discovery's Inaugural Canadian User Group Meeting

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors 

Dr Cummins with PRIME shows how CDD Vault “brings order to chemical chaos”

The Canadian CDD UGM continues as Brian Wilson emphasizes the reliance on collaboration in OICR’s drug discovery

The Canadian UGM continues as CDD’s James White leads a panel with Erin (X-Chem), Jon (McMaster Univ) and Josh (Molecular Forecaster)

Dr Peter Toogood from the University of Michigan gave us an idea of how collaborations help their drug discovery efforts!

 

 Dr Mark Reed from UHN outlines multiple drug discovery collaborations.

Dr Lee Fader talks about how CDD Vault’s restful API and CDD Vault Visualization play important roles in Decision Making and responding to data at Congruence.

CDD’s own Ralphie Fiorenza wraps up today’s Canadian UGM with sneak peeks into CDD Vault’s exciting future!

View from dinner. Thank you to everyone who attended. 

The 2025 CDD User Group Meeting (UGM) Canada brought together researchers, industry experts, and thought leaders to discuss the latest advancements in drug discovery, data management, and collaborative research. Held in the stunning Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the event fostered both insightful discussions and valuable networking opportunities in a welcoming and open atmosphere.

Key Highlights from the Event

Real-world success stories from Dr. Carolyn Cummins and Brian Wilson kicked off the day to showcase how current drug discovery research is supported by CDD Vault. Leading into the panel, Dr. Erin David, Dr. Josh Pottel, and Dr. Jon Stokes discussed how to utilize ML/AI tools effectively in modern drug discovery workflows and avoid landing in Gartner's Trough of Disillusionment, with ample laughs and spirited discussions. 

The day got interesting during lunch, when a heatwave caused the power grid to fail, and the CDD team had to quickly pivot, booking a new conference room on the fly and moving the whole operation to the Kingston Saint George Hotel for the remainder of the day. Despite this, only 20 min of programming was omitted, an extra 30 min of mid-day happy hour was added, and the day finished discussing informatics with Dr. Peter Toogood, integration by Dr. Lee Fader and a CDD roadmap to the future via Ralphie Fiorenza. 

Ending on a metaphorical and literal high, we took the CN tower elevator up 147 stories and got stunning views of the Toronto at 360 The Restaurant for dinner. With Toronto as an inspiring backdrop we deepened connections within the Toronto drug discovery community, international partners, and future collaborators. 

Speakers & Sessions

The event featured an exceptional lineup of speakers who shared insights on topics in life sciences including:

• Carolyn Cummins, PhD. Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences,University of Toronto., Associate Scientific Director Next Generation Precision Medicine Initiative (PRiME).
  A Long-Term Drug Discovery Academic Lab Turns to CDD Vault
• Michael Woodhouse, Strategic Account Manager, CDD.
  Opening Remarks  
• David Carter, CEO Innovation Factory Hamilton., Advisory Board, Canada's Tech Network., Vice- Chair, Board of Advisors, Technology Access Center in Digital Health, MEDIC, Mohawk College.
  MC & Improvisation Specialists   
• Brian Wilson, Senior Research Scientist, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. 
  Leveraging CDD Vault to Accelerate Drug Discovery at OICR  
• Erin Davis, PhD., CTO X-Chem, INC.    
  Panelist, Transforming Drug Discovery Through Data-Driven Approaches  
• Jon Stokes, PhD., Assistant Professor, Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University.
  Panelist, Transforming Drug Discovery Through Data-Driven Approaches  
• Josh Pottel, PhD., CEO, Molecular Forecaster.     
  Panelist, Transforming Drug Discovery Through Data-Driven Approaches
• James White, PhD., Collaborative Communications, CDD.     
  Moderator, Transforming Drug Discovery Through Data-Driven Approaches
• Alex Clark, PhD., Research Scientist, CDD., President, Molecular Materials Informatics.          
  Research Informatics to Production: Zero to One, One to Many (Postponed due to power outage)
• Peter Toogood, PhD., Director, Michigan Drug Discovery, University of Michigan.    .     
  Implementing CDD Vault as an Informatics Solution Across Michigan Drug Discovery
• Ralphie Fiorenza,  Product Manager, CDD.     
  CDD Roadmap 
• Lee Fader, PhD., Vice-President of Chemistry, Congruence Therapeutics.,      .     
  Agility, Integration, and Courage in Drug Discovery

These sessions equipped attendees with actionable strategies and new perspectives on managing complex scientific data. A huge thank you to all our speakers for their valuable contributions.

Attendee Engagement & Key Takeaways

Key themes of the Canada UGM were the need for structured and interoperable data resources for modern drug discovery from academia to industry. With multiple examples of how CDD is working internationally for research groups as collaborative hub managing FAIR compliant data. 

CDD's values were also on full display at this UGM, with the team quickly finding solutions and making sure the day continued for attendees during the heatwave. This commitment to current and potential clients that runs through the whole CDD team drives our industry leading customer satisfaction.

Looking Ahead

We are grateful to everyone who joined us for the inaugural Canada User Group Meeting and contributed to such an engaging and insightful event. Your participation and discussions continue to shape the future of collaborative drug discovery.

If you missed this event or would like to continue the conversation, stay tuned for details on our upcoming event announcements. We look forward to seeing you at our next gathering!

If you're located in the San Diego area, we invite you to join us for our upcoming User Group Meeting on August 28.  Registration is now open.

And if you'd like to dive deeper into any of the topics discussed or have questions about future events, don't hesitate to reach out. Contact us at info@collaborativedrug.com to schedule a discussion or learn more about upcoming opportunities in 2025 and beyond.