How a researcher uses Codex and ChatGPT to search for new antimicrobial molecules
A researcher is using Codex and ChatGPT to accelerate the hunt for antimicrobial molecules — showing how AI is reshaping drug discovery workflows.
Why it matters
This is a deployment case study showing AI tools (ChatGPT, Codex) applied to a specific scientific workflow — drug discovery. The story matters to practitioners because it demonstrates a real use of frontier models in a high-stakes domain, and to enthusiasts as evidence of AI's expanding footprint beyond software engineering into biotech.
The key facts
11 to knowResearcher: César de la Fuente's lab
Tools: Codex and ChatGPT
Application: screening living and extinct genomes for antimicrobial candidates
Use case: combating drug-resistant infections
Source: OpenAI case study (published Sep 10, 2026)
César de la Fuente's lab (research group, likely University of Pennsylvania)
Uses Codex (OpenAI's code model, now sunset into GPT-4) and ChatGPT
Application: searching living and extinct genomes for antimicrobial candidates
Use case: drug-resistant infection mitigation
Methodology: genome search and molecular candidate discovery
Source: OpenAI case study (first-party vendor content)
Go to the source
OpenAI Blogopenai.com
Publisher excerpt: César de la Fuente’s lab uses Codex and ChatGPT to search living and extinct genomes for antimicrobial candidates to fight drug-resistant infections.