Biography

With over three decades of experience in artificial intelligence and knowledge management for target and drug discovery, Dr. Tudor I. Oprea is a digital drug hunter who proposed key concepts like ChemGPS, the "lead-like approach," systems chemical biology, and the knowledge-based classification of human proteins.

Oprea's drug discovery contributions include the co-discovery of the first GPER agonist (IND in 2019 and orphan drug designation in 2021), several GPER antagonists and GLUT transporter inhibitors. Three drugs he co-invented progressed to Phase I clinical trials: Raltegravir (NCT01275183) and R-Ketorolac (NCT01670799) as anti-cancer agents; and LNS8801, a GPER agonist, has also received IND clearance and orphan drug designation for metastatic uveal melanoma (NCT04130516). His validated machine learning models encompass diseases, targets, and chemicals, with significant impact in disease and chemical biology.

Following a six-year tenure at AstraZeneca Gothenburg, he held Professorship appointments at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and the Technical University of Denmark, and guest professorships at the Universities of Perugia, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg. Currently, he serves as the CEO at Expert Systems Inc in San Diego, and Professor Emeritus at UNM School of Medicine.

Dr. Oprea has co-authored over 360 publications and book chapters, holds 11 granted US patents, and served as the Principal Investigator for the NIH project "Illuminating the Druggable Genome Knowledge Management Center" from 2014 to 2022. This project resulted in the development of Pharos (pharos.nih.gov) and DrugCentral (drugcentral.org). He received the Corwin Hansch award in 2002. He continues to pursue his interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence for drug discovery, repurposing, and the study of disease and target biology.