---
title: "Venkatesan Saravanan - AI Drug Discovery Scientist in Tamil Nadu | Tal"
description: "Meet Venkatesan Saravanan, AI Drug Discovery Scientist | Computational Chemist | AI-Guided Drug Design (AlphaFold, Boltz-2, DiffDock) | MD/QSAR/ADMET | Medicinal Chemist | Ph.D. | FRSC based in Tamil Nadu."
image: "https://tal.club/meet/venkatesan-saravanan/share-image"
---

# Venkatesan Saravanan on Tal

## Headline

AI Drug Discovery Scientist \| Computational Chemist \| AI\-Guided Drug Design \(AlphaFold, Boltz\-2, DiffDock\) \| MD/QSAR/ADMET \| Medicinal Chemist \| Ph\.D\. \| FRSC

## About

Computational chemist bridging AI\-guided structure prediction and classical drug discovery\. As Principal Investigator, I took a carbonic anhydrase IX/XII inhibitor program from ligand\-based pharmacophore modeling through molecular dynamics to a patent\-protected chemical series — closing the loop from computation to experimental validation \(analogue synthesis, zebrafish, and rodent pharmacology\)\. Core strengths • Structure prediction & generative design: AlphaFold2/3, Boltz\-2, DiffDock • Classical MD/QSAR/ADMET: GROMACS, AMBER, NAMD, OpenMM, on HPC \(Taiwania 3, NARLabs Taiwan\) • ML/AI: PyTorch, TensorFlow, GNNs, cheminformatics \(RDKit\) • Currently benchmarking chemistry/biology reasoning in frontier LLMs \(including Claude Opus 4\.8\) as a Domain Expert at Turing Inc\. 26 peer\-reviewed papers, \~600 citations, H\-index 15, and 1 filed patent within four years of starting my PhD\. Associate Member, Royal Society of Chemistry\.

## Location

Tamil Nadu

## Work experience

AI Drug Discovery Scientist at Lantern Pharma Inc\. \(Nasdaq: LTRN\), Aug 2026 \- Present · 3 mos, Dallas, TX, Working on the development and integration of AI/ML and computational chemistry modules within the withZeta medicinal chemistry platform, enabling advanced molecular analysis, design, and drug discovery workflows\.

Domain Expert — Chemistry & Biology, LLM Scientific Reasoning at Turing, Nov 2025 \- Jul 2026 · 9 mos, United States, Design and benchmark chemistry/biology reasoning test cases for frontier language models, including Claude Opus 4\.8\. Translate PhD\-level computational chemistry expertise into structured evaluation frameworks used in AI model training and assessment\.

International Fellow at National Applied Research Laboratories, NARLabs, Feb 2023 \- Nov 2023 · 10 mos, Hsinchu City, Awarded a fellowship of NTD 184,000 to develop machine learning algorithms for small\-molecule drug discovery, with hands\-on experience on the Taiwania 3 HPC cluster\.

Research Scholar at SRM Institute of Science and Technology \(SRMIST\), Jul 2022 \- Oct 2025 · 3 yrs 4 mos, Chennai, Conceived, funded, and led as Principal Investigator a selective carbonic anhydrase IX/XII inhibitor discovery program — from ligand\-based pharmacophore modeling through molecular dynamics to a filed patent • Secured ₹220,000 intramural research grant as PI for "Validating AI\-Based De Novo Design and Docking Approaches Against Carbonic Anhydrase" • Built integrated computational pipelines \(pharmacophore modeling, docking, DFT, MD, QSAR/ADMET\) validated against wet\-lab synthesis and in vivo pharmacology • Co\-authored 26 peer\-reviewed papers \(\~600 citations, H\-index 15\) across carbonic anhydrase, kinase, and antimicrobial drug\-design targets

Quality Assurance Tester at Applause, Jan 2021 \- Mar 2023 · 2 yrs 3 mos, United States, • To successfully deliver multiple global projects on various industries including Retail, Gaming, Betting, Fitness, Entertainment and to perform usability testing on Smart watches, new software features / updates on latest smart televisions\. • To perform exploratory , cross browser, accessibility testing on websites for UI/ payment gateway / secured card payout and to execute test cases, report test results with data/evidence and raise defects as per each client’s standards and provid video / screenshot /log evidence\.

## Education

Master of medical biotechnologies, Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale

Doctor of Philosophy \- PhD, Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology \(SRMIST\)

[View the original profile](https://tal.club/meet/venkatesan-saravanan)

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