The Insilico Lab National Drug Discovery Challenge

THE INSILICO LAB NATIONAL DRUG DISCOVERY CHALLENGE (TILNDDC 2026)
Lassa Fever Therapeutics Edition – Nigeria

Theme:
Computational Discovery of Novel Therapeutics Against Lassa Fever

PRIZES
• ₦100,000 — First Place.
• ₦50,000 — Second Place.

Additional Recognition
• Certificate of Excellence
• Feature on The Insilico Lab platform.

IMPORTANT DATES
• Registration Opens: 20th April 2026
• Submission Deadline for Stage 1: 4th May 2026
• Results Announcement for Stage 1: 18th May 2026
• Submission Deadline for Stage 2: 29th June 2026
• Results Announcement for Stage 2: 20th July 2026

Click here to apply

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Insilico Lab National Drug Discovery Challenge (TILNDDC 2026) is a two-stage national scientific competition designed to identify high-potential researchers capable of proposing computationally driven therapeutic solutions against Lassa fever.

TILNDDC 2026 is a competitive selection process, ensuring that only the most promising participants advance to the final research stage.

Participants will be required to:
• Demonstrate scientific thinking and target understanding (Stage I).
• Develop a full computational drug discovery proposal (Stage II).

Join us in establishing a national standard for computational drug design excellence.

WHY LASSA FEVER?
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the Arenaviridae family. First identified in 1969 in Nigeria in the town of Lassa, located in Borno State, Nigeria, the disease has since remained endemic across several West African countries, with Nigeria bearing a significant proportion of the burden.

The primary source of the virus is the multimammate rat (Mastomys natalensis), which promotes continuous zoonotic transmission to humans, especially in surroundings where human–rodent contact is common. Human-to-human transmission can also occur, especially in healthcare environments, contributing to periodic outbreaks.

Recent reports indicate that Lassa fever continues to present an ongoing and evolving public health challenge in Nigeria, characterised by seasonal outbreaks, increasing case detection, and strain on healthcare systems.

PUBLIC HEALTH BURDEN
• It is estimated that 100,000 to 300,000 infections occur annually in West Africa, with approximately 5,000 deaths each year.
• Nigeria experiences yearly outbreaks, often with fluctuating fatality rates depending on access to care and early diagnosis.
• Severe cases can result in multi-organ involvement, including haemorrhage, neurological complications, and shock.

THERAPEUTIC AND SCIENTIFIC GAPS
Despite decades of research, Lassa fever remains therapeutically underserved:
• Limited treatment: The antiviral drug ribavirin has shown some benefit, but its effectiveness is highly dependent on early administration and remains inconsistent.
• Absence of widely available, approved targeted therapies: There is no broadly effective, mechanism-specific antiviral drug currently in routine clinical use.
• Vaccine limitations: While vaccine candidates are under investigation, none are yet widely deployed for public use.

WHY THIS CHALLENGE MATTERS
The continued burden of Lassa fever calls for innovative, mechanism-driven therapeutic strategies. Computational methods, such as molecular docking, virtual screening, molecular dynamics, machine learning, and deep learning, offer a powerful route to:
• Rapidly identify and optimise drug candidates.
• Explore binding interactions at atomic resolution.
• Reduce the cost and time associated with early-stage drug discovery.

By focusing this challenge on Lassa fever, the Insilico Lab aims to:
• Encourage locally relevant scientific problem-solving.
• Promote computational drug discovery capacity in Nigeria.
• Generate novel, research-grade therapeutic hypotheses.

TILNDDC 2026 OBJECTIVE
Participants must:
Propose and computationally justify a novel drug candidate or therapeutic strategy targeting Lassa fever at the molecular level.

This may include:
• Structure-based drug design.
• Virtual screening workflows.
• Targeting viral proteins (e.g., glycoproteins).
• Host-targeted therapeutic strategies.
•Repurposing existing compounds with strong computational validation.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Participants must fulfil the following:
• Nigerian nationals only
• Undergraduate, MSc, PhD students, and early-career researchers
• Individuals or teams (maximum of 3 members)

Selection-Based Entry
Participation is not automatic. All applicants must pass Stage I screening to qualify for Stage II.

STAGE I: CONCEPT PROPOSAL
Applicants must submit a short scientific concept (1–2 pages) outlining:

Required Components
• Proposed molecular target (viral or host)
• Rationale for target selection
• Proposed therapeutic strategy
• Brief description of computational approach.

Evaluation Focus
• Scientific clarity
• Relevance of the target
• Originality of the idea
• Feasibility

Outcome
• Only the top 30 applicants will advance to Stage II.
• Selected participants receive official acceptance into the challenge.

STAGE II: FULL RESEARCH SUBMISSION (FINAL ROUND)
Only selected candidates will submit a complete scientific paper presenting a full computational drug discovery study.

FINAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS (STAGE II)

Manuscript Structure
• Title
• Abstract (150–250 words)
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References

Length & Format
• Word count: 3,000 – 6,000 words
• Page limit: 8–15 pages
• Font: Times New Roman (12 pt)
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Format: PDF

Scientific Requirements
Submissions must include:
• Clear target identification and justification
• Defined computational workflow
• Proposed drug candidate or strategy
• Mechanistic explanation of action
• Supporting figures, tables, or models

RULES & REGULATIONS
• Submissions must be original.
• No previously published work.
• No use of AI-generated writing tools, direct copy and paste.
• A maximum similarity index of 15% is allowed.
• Fabrication or manipulation of results is prohibited (All supplementary materials must be provided).
• All contributors must be declared.
• No third-party or ghostwriting.
• One submission per applicant/team.
• Any violation leads to immediate disqualification.

EVALUATION CRITERIA (FINAL ROUND)
• Scientific rigour
• Target relevance
• Computational methodology
• Innovation and originality
• Feasibility of the therapeutic proposal
• Depth of mechanistic insight
• Quality of presentation