Pioneers in protein design clinch 2024 Nobel Chemistry Prize

In Stockholm, it was announced that American David Baker and British Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper are the laureates of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The scientists were recognized for their work on designing and predicting the three-dimensional structure of proteins.

We have learned the Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry for the year 2024. American David Baker was honoured for his research on protein design using computational methods. Britons Hassabis and Jumper received the prize for predicting three-dimensional protein structures.

Thanks to the research results of this year's laureates, it is possible to create new proteins that are used in disease treatment, vaccines, nanomaterials, and in a better understanding of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, the Nobel Committee reported on its website.

In 2020, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper presented the AI model AlphaFold2. It allows the prediction of structures for nearly all the 200 million identified proteins. Since then, AlphaFold2 has been used by over 2 million people in 190 countries. This research has enabled a better understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the action of enzymes breaking down plastic.

David Baker designed new protein molecules in 2023 using amino acids—the basic building blocks of proteins. Since then, his research group has been designing more proteins. These can be used as drugs, components of vaccines, nanomaterials, and small sensors.

David Baker will receive half of the prize, amounting to $1.45 million CAD. Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper will share the remaining part.

David Baker, born on October 6, 1952, is a pioneer in computational methods for designing and predicting three-dimensional protein structures using artificial intelligence. His achievements are of great significance to medicine.

39-year-old Briton Demis Hassabis began his career by designing and programming computer games using artificial intelligence. He is a co-founder of the DeepMind laboratory, a subsidiary of Google. Hassabis also serves as an advisor to the UK government on AI technology.

John Michael Jumper was born in 1981 in Little Rock, USA. Together with Hassabis, he created the AlphaFold artificial intelligence system, which allows the prediction of protein structures based on amino acid sequences. Jumper currently works at the DeepMind laboratory in London.

David Baker, a professor at the University of Washington, was included in 2024 by "Time" among the 100 most influential people in the field of health. In 2021, John M. Jumper was recognised by "Nature" magazine as one of the ten most significant people in science.