Peng Zhan

Professor

Shandong University

Short Biography

Peng Zhan, a Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at Shandong University, is a Young Scholar of a National Key Talent Program, leading projects such as the Key R&D Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. With long-term dedication to antiviral drug research and development, his achievements have been published in journals including Science Advances, Advanced Science, Nature Communications, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Society Reviews, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, The Innovation, and Drug Resistance Updates, holding an H-index of 51. He has obtained over 20 authorized patents, authored 5 monographs/textbooks as the chief editor, and contributed to more than 10 others as an associate editor or co-author. Serving as a Young Member of the Medicinal Chemistry Committee of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, an Associate Editor of European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and an Editorial Board Member for journals like Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, Chinese Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Progress in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and University Chemistry, he has guest-edited over 10 special issues for journals such as Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, Pharmacological Research, and Drug Discovery Today. Awarded the Young Medicinal Chemist Award by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and the Travel Award at the International Antiviral Conference, he has been consecutively listed among the Top 2% Scientists Worldwide and the "Global Top 100,000 Scientists", with his research group's website at https://faculty.sdu.edu.cn/zhanpeng/zh_CN/index/575337/list/index.htm.

Presentation Topic: New Strategies and Technologies for Research on Small Molecule Antiviral Innovative Drugs

This report focuses on the field of antiviral medicinal chemistry, analyzing its clinical needs, research challenges, and drug design strategies. Given the severe problem of viral drug resistance and the unpredictability of emerging and re-emerging viruses, there is an urgent clinical need for anti-resistance, broad-spectrum, and drug-like agents. The research employs technologies guided by structure biology and empowered by computational chemistry to develop drugs against multiple viral targets, such as the new generation of HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Meanwhile, antiviral drugs leveraging technologies including PROTACs (Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras), hydrophobic tags, and autophagy targeting have been developed by harnessing host degradation mechanisms. Additionally, the discovery of antiviral lead compounds with novel scaffolds through multidimensional screening has promoted the innovative development of antiviral drugs, with some achievements entering the clinical development stage.