We are a transdisciplinary and diverse Team bringing together computer scientists, engineers, chemists, peptide scientists, biologists, microbiologists, and experts from various other disciplines.
Our collective mission is to use the power of machines to accelerate discoveries in biology and medicine, with a focus on the smallest functional biomolecules of life (peptides) and the simplest living organisms (bacteria).
Explore some of our current projects:
ANTIBIOTICS AI
We developed the first antibiotic designed by a computer with proven efficacy in preclinical animal models, demonstrating that machines and AI could be used to design therapeutic molecules. This breakthrough opened new avenues for using computers for antibiotic discovery. Many of our ongoing efforts focus on the use of AI for antibiotic discovery.
MINING BIOLOGY
One of our core missions is to mine the world's biological information for antibiotics and other useful molecules. We have been at the forefront of developing computational approaches for biological mining, leading to the discovery of a vast array of new antimicrobial candidates and dramatically accelerating antibiotic discovery.
We were the first to mine the human proteome as a source of antibiotics, and we have since expanded to proteomes, genomes, and metagenomes across the entire Tree of Life. Together, these efforts have reduced the time needed to identify preclinical candidates from years to hours. This work also revealed a new class of peptides —encrypted peptides (EPs)—which can serve as templates for antibiotic development and may represent an unrecognized layer of host immunity.
MOLECULAR DE-EXTINCTION
Using machine learning, our lab discovered the first therapeutic molecules in extinct organisms and ancient biology, launching the field of molecular de-extinction. We believe that resurrecting molecules from the past can help solve present-day challenges such as antibiotic resistance.
Resurrection biology is an emerging field that aims to bring strings of molecules and more complex organisms back to life with the ultimate goal of benefiting humanity. Thus far, we have mined the proteomes of our closest relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, and of all extinct organisms known to science (the "extinctome"), revealing a new universe of antimicrobial sequences, yielding preclinical candidates, and helping launch this emerging research area.
ANTIBIOTICS IN VENOMS
Venoms are an underappreciated source of medicines. Using structure-guided design, we have successfully reprogrammed venom-derived peptides from various creatures like wasps and frogs into potent antibiotics. These modified antibiotics have demonstrated both safety and effectiveness in preclinical mouse models. Our group has also introduced a new paradigm for treating bacterial infections through host-targeting immunotherapies, demonstrating this concept both in vitro and in animal models.
LOW-COST DIAGNOSTICS
Low-cost diagnostics for bacterial and viral infections are urgently needed in low-resource settings and disadvantaged communities to control outbreaks and prevent disease spread. Current diagnostics are expensive and slow, limiting their widespread use.
In response to these health inequities, our lab is developing affordable diagnostic technologies. We have created several low-cost tests for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious threats, with prototypes that surpass existing tests in speed and affordability.
