Promega to Host First Midwest AI for Molecular Design Symposium

Invitational event features midwestern academic and industry scientists advancing AI-driven creation of novel proteins and small molecules

Madison, WI USA. (November 3, 2026)

The first Midwest AI for Molecular Design Symposium will welcome biologists, chemists and computational scientists from midwestern universities and biotechnology companies for a two-day event focused on AI-driven protein and small molecule design. Hosted by Promega Corporation, the event aims to foster collaboration and shared learning among regional researchers working with machine learning, generative models and structure prediction. The symposium will take place November 10-11, 2026, on the Promega campus in Madison, WI.

"The symposium is an important step towards a lasting Midwest community around molecular design," says Thomas Kirkland, Sr Research Scientist, Promega Corporation. "This region has strong protein and small molecule design groups, and we're bringing them into one room for open discussions and collaboration."

The agenda includes speakers from 7 universities, as well as 5 companies and national laboratories. Session topics include using AI to search for new medicines, laboratory testing of AI tools that design new proteins, and comparisons of computer models that predict how molecules interact.

Speakers represent the following institutions and companies:

• AbbVie: Sarah Fahlberg, AI/ML Scientist
• Argonne National Laboratory: Arvind Ramanathan, Computational Science Leader
• Evozyne: Ryan Mork, Senior Director of Data Science
• FAR Biotech: Martin N. Martinov, Chief Scientific Officer
• Michigan State University: Alex Dickson, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Northwestern University: Gabriel Rocklin, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine
• The Ohio State University: Xia Ning, Professor, Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Computer Science and Engineering
• Tabula Bioscience: Phil Huss, Principal Scientist
• University of Chicago:
  • Aditya N. Singh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Chicago Center for Theoretical Chemistry
  • Aly A. Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine
  • Emily Hinds, PhD Candidate, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Huimin Zhao, Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• University of Notre Dame: Yunrui Qiu, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• University of Wisconsin-Madison:
  • Anthony Gitter, Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics
  • Betül Kaçar, Associate Professor, Department of Bacteriology
  • Evelyn Okal, PhD Candidate, Integrated Program in Biochemistry
  • Hannah Wayment-Steele, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry
  • Julie C. Mitchell, Professor Emerita
  • Madhav Muthyala, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
  • Spencer Ericksen, Scientist II, Drug Development Core, Small Molecule Screening Facility, UW Carbone Cancer Center
  • Xuhui Huang, Hirschfelder Chair in Theoretical Chemistry and Director, Theoretical Chemistry Institute, Department of Chemistry

Attendance at the symposium is by invitation only. For more information on the symposium, media are welcome to contact Promega.

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