Pat Walters

Pat Walters heads the computation and informatics group at Relay, which focuses on novel applications of computational methods that integrate computer simulations and experimental data to provide insights that drive drug discovery programs. Prior to joining Relay, he spent more than 20 years at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he was global head of modeling and informatics. In this role, Pat served on the global research leadership team and was a part of the cystic fibrosis research steering group.

Pat is a member of the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and previously held similar roles with Molecular Informatics, and Letters in Drug Design & Discovery. He continues to play an active role in the scientific community. Pat was the chair of the 2017 Gordon Conference on Computer-Aided Drug Design. He has been instrumental in many community driven efforts to evaluate computational methods, including the NIH funded Drug Design Data Resource (D3R) and the American Chemical Society TDT initiative.

Pat holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Arizona, where he studied the application of artificial intelligence in conformational analysis. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D., he worked at Varian Instruments as both a chemist and a software developer. Pat received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara.