Professor Philippe Derreumaux visits and works at the Institute for Advanced Study in Technology – Ton Duc Thang University

As part of the strategy to internationalize education and research, from 08 to 23 September 2025, The Institute for Advanced Study in Technology (IAST), Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), was honored to welcome Professor Philippe Derreumaux for a key visit and working program. With a distinguished career times compared with traditional methods. He is also the founder of the PEP-FOLD platform, one of the world’s leading peptide structure prediction tools with thousands of citations. As a Senior Member of the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) for two consecutive terms (2010 and 2021), his studies on protein aggregation mechanisms in Alzheimer’s disease have opened new avenues for the design of therapeutics targeting neurodegenerative disorders.

The long-standing collaboration between marked by breakthroughs in protein science, Professor Philippe Derreumaux (Université Paris Cité, France) is internationally recognized as the “father” of the OPEP (Optimized Potential for Efficient Structure Prediction) force field – a revolutionary tool that accelerates protein structure simulations by hundreds of Professor Derreumaux and TDTU began in 2019, when he took on the role of Head of the Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory and became a core member of the TDTU Prize Committee. Over more than six years, he has not only been a close scientific partner but also a visionary mentor for several research groups at the university. A particular highlight of this journey is his close collaboration with Dr. Ngo Son Tung, Director of IAST. The synergy between Professor Derreumaux’s extensive theoretical expertise and Dr. Tung’s sharp scientific insight has created a highly productive duo in the field of biophysics in Vietnam, leading to a series of notable achievements:

• Thirteen joint publications in high-impact journals such as Chemical Reviews, Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
• Co-development of high-quality research projects funded by the NAFOSTED Foundation on the structural and aggregation properties of amyloid‑beta peptides.
• Direct supervision and inspiration for young researchers at IAST, helping them gain access to state-of-the-art molecular simulation technologies.

The September 2025 visit further reinforces Professor Philippe Derreumaux’s long-term commitment to IAST and TDTU. It provides an opportunity for both sides to jointly plan new interdisciplinary projects, with the aim of bringing research from the laboratory closer to real biomedical applications, thereby contributing to elevating the international standing of IAST and Ton Duc Thang University in scientific research.