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Establishing our first international translational research project
From our partners at the BioInnovation Institute: BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international enterprise foundation with a non-profit objective incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, announces today that it has accepted a new project into its Bio Studio program. Based on recent breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and protein design, the project is creating a…
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David Baker to present at the NIH Director’s Lecture Series
David Baker presented at the NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series on December 14, 2022. From the National Institutes of Health: The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, colloquially known as WALS, is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Traditionally, lectures have occurred on most Wednesdays from September through June from 3:00 to 4:00…
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A diffusion model for protein design
Update (July 2023): Our manuscript on the development of RFdiffusion has been published in Nature. A team led by scientists from the Baker Lab has created a powerful new way of designing proteins that combines structure prediction networks and generative diffusion models. The team demonstrated extremely high computational success using the new method and experimentally…
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ProteinMPNN excels at creating new proteins
Over the past two years, machine learning has revolutionized protein structure prediction. Now, three papers in Science describe a similar revolution in protein design. In the new papers, scientists in the Baker lab show that machine learning can be used to create proteins much more accurately and quickly than previously possible. This could lead to…
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Design of membrane-traversing peptides leads to new spinout
Researchers at the Institute for Protein Design have discovered how to create peptides that slip through membranes and enter cells. This drug design breakthrough may lead to new medications for a wide variety of health disorders, including cancer, infection, and inflammation. This research appears in the journal Cell [PDF]. “This new ability to design membrane-permeable…
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Annual Report 2022
Protein design reached two major milestones this year: Our Institute succeeded in producing its first fully-approved medicine, and our spinout companies have together raised over one billion dollars in capital. We are pleased to present this overview of the progress made at the Institute for Protein Design during the past year. 2022 Annual Report
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Biosensor startup Monod secures $25M seed financing
Monod Bio, a life sciences company developing custom diagnostic biosensors that emit light to detect specific biomolecules of interest, today announced it has raised a $25M seed financing round. The round was led by Matrix Capital, with participation from the Global Health Investment Corporation, Cercano Management, The Washington Research Foundation, Boom Capital Ventures, Sahsen Ventures,…
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Celebrating our 10-year Anniversary
This week we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Institute for Protein Design. Current members, advisors, supporters, and old friends all came together on campus to share memories and forge new friendships. It was a night to remember. A lot has changed in the past decade. At our founding, the concept of protein design…
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Training A.I. to generate medicines and vaccines
Today we report in Science [PDF] the development of artificial intelligence software that can create proteins that may be useful as vaccines, cancer treatments, or even tools for pulling carbon pollution out of the air. This project was led by Jue Wang, Doug Tischer, and Joseph L. Watson, who are postdoctoral scholars at UW Medicine,…
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COVID-19 vaccine with IPD nanoparticles wins full approval abroad
• Clinical testing found the vaccine outperforms Oxford/AstraZeneca’s • The protein-based vaccine, now called SKYCovione, does not require deep freezing • University of Washington to waive royalty fees for the duration of the pandemic • South Korea to purchase 10 million doses for domestic use A vaccine for COVID-19 developed at the University of Washington…
