Protein design may solve vexing problems in medicine

The Institute for Protein Design will become an innovation hub for new therapeutics for a variety of common, serious diseases. It will also engineer new nanomaterials for industry. Through computer modeling of novel protein particles and complexes, researchers hope to develop vaccines, treatments for neurological disorders, targeted gene therapy delivery systems, and smart drugs for cancer and autoimmune disorders. In other efforts, self-assembling proteins will be created for use in solar energy and other capacities.

David Baker, director of the Institute for Protein Design and University of Washington School of Medicine professor of biochemistry, explains what protein design is and how it can advance medicine and materials science.

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UW Medicine