Pune
September 9, 2026
C-DAC Pune, successfully concluded its three-day international symposium “Accelerating Biology 2026 – Re-imagining Biology in the AI Era” from September 7th–9th, 2026 at the Pune International Centre. Organized by the High-Performance Computing – Medical Informatics and Bioinformatics Applications (HPC M&BA) Group of C-DAC Pune, the event brought together eminent researchers, academicians, computational biologists, technology experts, students, and delegates from India and abroad to deliberate on AI, High-Performance Computing (HPC), multi-omics, and computational methods in life sciences and drug discovery.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Dr. Shekhar Mande, President, Indian National Science Academy (INSA); Smt. Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); Shri Sanjay Wandhekar, Centre Head, C-DAC Pune; and Dr. Uddhavesh Sonavane, Scientist G and Programme Director, HPC M&BA Group, serving as Convener. A special video address by Dr. Vijay P. Bhatkar added significance to the proceedings.
Highlights included the launch of two indigenous technologies: the ICE Container Repository (ICR), a platform for secure container management, and PARAM-DOCK, an automated parallel multi-molecular docking tool developed under the NSM– sub-project NSM Platform for Genomics and Drug Discovery (NPGDD).
The scientific programme featured keynote addresses, technical sessions, panel discussions, and poster presentations on AI-driven drug discovery, computational structural biology, predictive biology, ideas to impact, multi-omics, and exascale computing. The international character was underscored by 54 speakers, including Dr. Ravi Madduri (Argonne National Laboratory, USA); Prof. Shinobu Ai and Prof. Vikas Pandey (University of Osaka, Japan); Prof. Yukiko Himeno (Ritsumeikan University, Japan); and Prof. Cassio (Federal Technological University of Paraná, Brazil). A total of 130 students/researchers from institutes across India also participated, engaging with experts regarding emerging developments in computational biology.
A pre-symposium one-day ICECloud workshop under India-EU GANANA project was held on September 6th, 2026, at the C-DAC Pune Innovation Park. The workshop attracted over 60 participants, while the symposium itself engaged more than 130 participants from academia, research institutes, and industry nationwide, offering hands-on exposure to ICECloud technologies and fostering collaborative discussions.
AB2026 reaffirmed India’s commitment to building an AI-enabled, HPC-driven ecosystem for next-generation biological research and drug discovery, with continued support from MeitY and the National Supercomputing Mission.
