David Baker
b. 1962 · USA · Pioneer of computational protein design.
Contribution
Advanced tools (e.g. RoseTTAFold and design pipelines) to not only predict structures but design new proteins that do not exist in nature — enzymes, binders, and materials with programmable functions.
Why It Still Matters
Opens routes to synthetic biosensors, novel antivirals, custom binding proteins, and potentially new antibiotic modalities — design, not only discovery.
Key Links
- Hub: Medical Microbiology History
- Peers: Demis Hassabis · John Jumper
- Concept: Protein Design for Antimicrobials · AlphaFold in Microbiology
- Domains: MOC - AI in Microbiology · MOC - Antimicrobials · MOC - Virology
- MOC: MOC - Fundamentals of Microbiology
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 (with Hassabis and Jumper)
Active Recall
- How does protein design differ from structure prediction?
- Name one conceivable antimicrobial/diagnostic application of designed proteins.