Latest posts
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Designed ligands tune cytokine signaling
Today the Baker lab shares some exciting collaborative results of their efforts to design rigid and tunable receptor dimerizers. The first authors of this report are Kritika Mohan, Stanford, and George Ueda, IPD. From Science: Exploring a range of signaling Cytokines are small proteins that bind to the extracellular domains of transmembrane…
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Tunable pH-dependent assemblies
Natural proteins often shift their shapes in precise ways in order to function. Achieving similar molecular rearrangements by design, however, has been a long-standing challenge. Today, a team of researchers lead by scientists at the IPD report in Science the rational design of synthetic proteins that move in response to their…
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Receptor sub-type binders
This week we report in NSMB a combined computational design and experimental selection approach for creating proteins that bind selectively to closely related receptor subtypes. This project was led by Luke Dang, a former Baker lab graduate student, and Yi Miao, a postdoctoral researcher in Christopher Garcia’s lab at Stanford. Abstract: To discriminate…
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De novo 2D arrays
This week we report in JACS a general approach for designing self-assembling 2D protein arrays. This project was led by Zibo Chen, a recent Baker lab graduate student, and featured collaborators from the, DiMaio, De Yoreo and Kollman labs at UW. Abstract: Modular self-assembly of biomolecules in two dimensions (2D)…
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Our outstanding postdoc mentors
We’re thrilled to share that four members of our Institute have been nominated for the UW Graduate School’s Postdoc Mentoring Award. Each brings invaluable guidance and advice to their graduate student and undergraduate trainees. This Year’s Winner: Gabriella Wolff, Biology Finalists: Michael Beyeler, Psychology David Grossnickle, Biology Matthew Hart, Pathology…
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Introducing our Audacious Project
We’ve been selected to join The Audacious Project, a philanthropic collaborative organized by TED. Read all about our project here. In short, we’re expanding our institute into a global hub of innovation so that protein design can be applied to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Our…
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Designing a stable and potent RSV vaccine candidate
Today we report in Cell our first computer-designed nanoparticle vaccine targeting respiratory syncytial virus, the primary cause of pneumonia in young children and the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide after malaria. Although virtually every child will get infected by RSV before the age of three, an estimated 99 percent…
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Potent anti-cancer proteins with fewer side effects
Today we report in Nature the first de novo designed proteins with anti-cancer activity. These compact molecules were designed to stimulate the same receptors as IL-2, a powerful immunotherapeutic drug, while avoiding unwanted off-target receptor interactions. We believe this is just the first of many computer-generated cancer drugs with enhanced specificity and potency.…
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Our publication was voted ‘2018 Reader’s Choice’ by Nature News & Views
Readers of Nature News & Views selected an article about our work as their 2018 Reader’s Choice. The article, written by Roberto Chica of the University of Ottawa, details our recent publication on de novo fluorescence-activating proteins and explores the challenges of de novo protein design more generally. From the…
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New designer proteins mimic DNA
To close out the year, Baker Lab scientists published a new report describing the creation of proteins that mimic DNA. We believe this breakthrough will aid the creation of bioactive nanomachines. DNA is a widely used building material at the nanoscale because it is simple and predictable: A pairs with…