AI Pioneers and Protein Designer Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday (Oct. 9) awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three scientists whose work in computational protein design and structure prediction could lead to breakthroughs in drug development, materials science and biotechnology.

David Baker of the University of Washington will receive half of the 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) prize “for computational protein design.” Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind will share the other half “for protein structure prediction.”

“One of the discoveries being recognised this year concerns the construction of spectacular proteins. The other is about fulfilling a 50-year-old dream: predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences,” Heiner Linke, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said in a news release. “Both of these discoveries open up vast possibilities.”

Baker, 62, pioneered techniques to design entirely new proteins not found in nature. His work has led to the creation of novel proteins with potential applications in pharmaceuticals, vaccines and nanomaterials.

“In 2003, David Baker succeeded in using these blocks to design a new protein that was unlike any other protein,” the Nobel committee noted. “Since then, his research group has produced one imaginative protein creation after another.”

Hassabis, 48, and Jumper, 39, were recognized for developing AlphaFold2, an artificial intelligence system that can accurately predict the three-dimensional structure of proteins from their amino acid sequences. This achievement solved a long-standing challenge in molecular biology.

“In 2020, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper presented an AI model called AlphaFold2. With its help, they have been able to predict the structure of virtually all the 200 million proteins that researchers have identified,” the committee said.

The ability to predict and design protein structures has far-reaching implications across multiple scientific disciplines. Researchers can now better understand complex biological processes, design more effective drugs and develop new materials with specific properties.

“Life could not exist without proteins,” the Nobel committee said. “That we can now predict protein structures and design our own proteins confers the greatest benefit to humankind.”

Baker’s work has already yielded practical applications. His lab has designed proteins that can be used as sensors, catalysts, and potential therapeutic agents. “Baker has succeeded with the almost impossible feat of building entirely new kinds of proteins,” the committee said.

The impact of AlphaFold2 has been equally profound. Since its release, the AI model “has been used by more than two million people from 190 countries,” according to the Nobel committee. Applications range from studying antibiotic resistance to developing enzymes that can break down plastic.

Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, and Jumper, a senior research scientist at the company, emphasized the collaborative nature of their work. In a joint statement, they said, “This recognition reflects the efforts of the entire AlphaFold team and our partners in the scientific community.”

The chemistry prize is the third Nobel awarded this week, following the prizes in medicine and physics. The literature prize will be announced on Thursday, followed by the peace prize on Friday and the economics prize on Monday.