Workshop 3 and 2026 Annual Meeting
Drug Discovery Involving IDPs, Transferable Skills, and Research Progress
Dates: April 20–22, 2026
Location: Centro Congressi Federico II, via Partenope, 36 – Sala B, Naples, Italy
The third IDPro workshop and second annual meeting brought the network together in Naples for three days dedicated to drug discovery involving intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), careers in peptide and protein research, and doctoral project discussions. The program combined scientific training and transferable skills with presentations across the network’s three work packages.
Program Highlights
- Training in drug modalities, peptide and protein drug discovery, and case studies
- Career perspectives from pharmaceutical research, academia, biotech, and patent law
- Presentations by all eleven doctoral candidates, with time for discussion
- Supervisory Board discussions, scientific advisors’ feedback, and a meeting between the project coordinator and PhD students
- A guided city tour and dinner in Naples
Drug Discovery and Career Development
The workshop on April 20 was organized by Gaetano Invernizzi (Novo Nordisk) and Kristian Strømgaard (University of Copenhagen). The morning focused on drug modalities and peptide and protein drug discovery. The afternoon explored career paths through contributions from the organizers, Christian Bech-Bartling (Gubra), and Anna Siegbahn (Høiberg). Vasiliki Andrianopoulou and Sonja Kuppermann chaired the panel discussion.
Doctoral Research and Consortium Discussions
The annual meeting on April 21–22 featured doctoral project sessions on WP1: Motifs and mechanism, chaired by Ylva Ivarsson; WP2: Larger context, chaired by Birthe Kragelund; and WP3: Targeting and cellular networks, chaired by Michael Wehr. Each doctoral candidate’s slot included a 20-minute presentation and 10 minutes of discussion. The program also included consortium meetings, feedback from scientific advisors, and further project discussions over coffee.
Detailed Program Schedule
Monday, April 20 – Drug Discovery Involving IDPs & Transferable Skills
Organizers: Gaetano Invernizzi, Novo Nordisk, and Kristian Strømgaard, University of Copenhagen
- 09:30–09:45 – Welcome – Kristian Strømgaard and Gaetano Invernizzi
- 09:45–10:30 – Introduction to drug modalities – Kristian Strømgaard
- 10:30–10:45 – Coffee break
- 10:45–11:30 – Introduction to peptide & protein drug discovery – Gaetano Invernizzi
- 11:30–12:15 – Case studies in peptide & protein drug discovery – Gaetano Invernizzi
- 12:30–13:30 – Lunch
Careers in peptide and protein research
- 13:30–14:00 – Scientist at Novo Nordisk – Gaetano Invernizzi
- 14:00–14:30 – Scientist in academia and biotech – Kristian Strømgaard
- 14:30–14:45 – Coffee break
- 14:45–15:15 – Scientist at Gubra – Christian Bech-Bartling
- 15:15–15:45 – Patent attorney at Høiberg – Anna Siegbahn
- 15:45–16:30 – Panel discussion – Chairs: Vasiliki Andrianopoulou and Sonja Kuppermann
- 16:30–17:00 – Wrap up
Tuesday, April 21 – Doctoral Project Sessions and Consortium Meeting
Doctoral project slots: 20-minute presentation + 10-minute discussion.
Session 1 – WP1: Motifs and mechanism
Chair: Ylva Ivarsson
- 09:00–09:05 – Opening remarks – Ylva Ivarsson (the program also notes five minutes for the deliverable kick-off)
- 09:05–09:35 – DC1 – Keziah Nomenyo
- 09:35–10:05 – DC2 – Ana Zupancic
- 10:05–10:35 – DC3 – Matti Valdimarsson
- 10:35–11:00 – Coffee break
Session 2 – WP2: Larger context
Chair: Birthe Kragelund
- 11:00–11:30 – DC4 – Sonja Kuppermann
- 11:30–12:00 – DC5 – Thomas Winbolt
- 12:00–13:30 – Lunch
- 13:30–14:00 – DC6 – Eduarda Santos Ventura
- 14:00–14:30 – DC7 – Arpan Ghosh
- 14:30–15:15 – Supervisory Board meeting
- 15:15–15:45 – Coffee
- 16:00–19:00 – Guided city tour
- Dinner
Wednesday, April 22 – Doctoral Project Sessions and Scientific Feedback
Doctoral project slots: 20-minute presentation + 10-minute discussion.
Session 3 – WP3: Targeting and cellular networks
Chair: Michael Wehr
- 09:00–09:30 – DC8 – Vasiliki Andrianopoulou
- 09:30–10:00 – DC9 – Matteo Runfola
- 10:00–10:30 – Coffee break
- 10:30–11:00 – DC10 – Giulia Palladino
- 11:00–11:30 – DC11 – Rafael Patarra
- 11:30–12:30 – Meeting between the project coordinator and PhD students
- 12:30–13:30 – Lunch
- 13:30–14:00 – Scientific advisors’ feedback
- 14:00–14:30 – Discussion and closing remarks, including closing for Deliverable D5.1
- 14:30–16:00 – Project discussions with coffee
Photo Gallery
Moments from Naples with fellows and collaborators.
