UW Medicine to lead research in vaccine development using Artificial Intelligence

SEATTLE — On September 26, the University of Washington Medicine announced it would be part of a network of seven nationally funded centers to develop vaccines and antibodies to fight against dangerous pathogens.

The goal is to develop vaccines and antibodies in preparation for the next public health crisis using Artificial Intelligence.

The focus is to stay ahead of potential diseases by having options for various viruses should the need arise.

The project will be led by Neil King, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, whose lab is known for using computational approaches to the creation of functional protein nanomaterials at the UW Medicine Institute for Protein Design in Seattle.

“We’ve now proposed a center focused on paramyxoviruses and bunyaviruses,” King said. “We selected these viruses because they present specific vaccine design challenges that, if solved, will facilitate the development of vaccines against related viruses.”

The center is expected to receive $13.6 million yearly for three years.

The network will be funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the AI-based methods will be available to researchers worldwide.

More information about this project can be found on the UW Medicine website.

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