I am a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, drug design, and scientific software. I received my Ph.D. in Computer Science from the National University of Defense Technology, where my work focused on molecular property prediction, molecular generation and optimization, and diffusion-based 3D lead generation and optimization.

My research emphasizes not only model performance, but also practical utility for biomedical discovery. Across publications, platforms, and collaborative research projects, I aim to turn advanced AI methods into usable infrastructure for medicinal chemistry, decision support, and real-world scientific workflows.

Beyond science, I am fascinated by the Yijing (The Book of Changes), an ancient Chinese philosophy that explores the dynamic balance of the universe. I see it as a timeless algorithm, offering insights into interconnectedness — whether decoding molecular structures or interpreting hexagrams, I enjoy uncovering hidden patterns and making sense of complexity.

📰News

  • Launch Apr 2026
    Launched MindDance AIDD Brief — a bilingual daily research briefing site

    Released AIDD Brief (brief.minddanceai.com), a bilingual (EN/ZH) daily briefing site covering AI-driven drug discovery, with automated paper fetching, LLM-powered scoring, and curated digests.

    Visit →
  • HKBU Mar 2026
    Started postdoctoral research at Hong Kong Baptist University

    Joined the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, as a postdoctoral researcher.

  • Ph.D. Dec 2025
    Successfully defended Ph.D. dissertation

    Defended the dissertation "Research on Key Technologies for Deep Learning-based Small Molecule Drug Design" at the National University of Defense Technology.

  • Report Sep 2025
    Delivered a report at the CAST Young Scientific Talent Pilot Program

    Presented at the CAST Young Scientific Talent Pilot Program in Hunan and exchanged ideas with fellow early-career researchers.

    News →
  • Chem. Sci. Aug 2025
    Decoding the limits of deep learning in molecular docking for drug discovery

    Co-first authored paper published in Chemical Science (RSC), systematically decoding the boundaries and failure modes of deep learning-based molecular docking.

    Paper →
  • Honor Jan 2025
    Selected for the inaugural CAST Youth Talent Support Program for doctoral students

    Selected for the inaugural doctoral-student track of the CAST Youth Talent Support Program.

Selected Publications

ADMETlab 3.0: an updated comprehensive online ADMET prediction platform enhanced with broader coverage, improved performance, API functionality and decision support
July 2024 Li Fu, Shaohua Shi, Jiacai Yi, Ningning Wang, Yuanhang He, Zhenxing Wu, Jinfu Peng, Youchao Deng, Wenxuan Wang, Chengkun Wu, Aiping Lyu, Xiangxiang Zeng, Wentao Zhao, Tingjun Hou, Dongsheng Cao Nucleic Acids Research
Co-first author IF 13.1 · JCR Q1

ADMETlab 3.0 is the second updated version of the web server that provides a comprehensive and efficient platform for evaluating ADMET-related parameters as well as physicochemical properties and medicinal chemistry…

OptADMET: a web-based tool for substructure modifications to improve ADMET properties of lead compounds
April 2024 Jiacai Yi, Shaohua Shi, Li Fu, Ziyi Yang, Pengfei Nie, Aiping Lu, Chengkun Wu, Yafeng Deng, Changyu Hsieh, Xiangxiang Zeng, Tingjun Hou, Dongsheng Cao Nature Protocols
First author IF 16 · JCR Q1

Lead optimization is a crucial step in drug discovery, aiming to design potential drug candidates from biologically active hits. During lead optimization, active hits undergo modifications to achieve a balance between…

Decoding the limits of deep learning in molecular docking for drug discovery
October 2025 Yue Li, Jiacai Yi, Hui Li, Kun Li, Fenghua Kang, Youchao Deng, Chengkun Wu, Xiangzheng Fu, Dejun Jiang, Dongsheng Cao Chemical Science
Co-first author IF 7.4 · JCR Q1

Structure-based molecular docking, a cornerstone of computational drug design, is undergoing a paradigm shift fueled by deep learning (DL) innovations. However, the rapid proliferation of DL-driven docking methods…

🧬Research

  • AI-Enabled Drug Design

    Molecular property prediction, generative optimization, molecular docking, and large-scale virtual screening.

  • Biomedical AI Platforms

    Deployable, one-stop scientific platforms for biomedicine and decision support.

  • LLM-Augmented Scientific Workflows

    Large language model agents for drug-discovery workflows.

🚀Platforms

10+ open-source platforms · 5.5M+ visits from 100+ countries · 5 software copyrights

DrugStudio

A one-stop intelligent drug design platform for molecular modeling and scientific workflows.

MindDance

WeChat official account sharing research notes, ideas, and updates on AI for drug discovery.

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