Two University of California, Davis projects that use artificial intelligence to design and manufacture proteins for industrial and health applications have been funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
The grants are part of a $32 million investment in AI and protein engineering announced August 7 by the NSF Directorate of Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP). Both teams are affiliated with the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health in collaboration with industry partners. Total funding for UC Davis will be approximately $1 million over three years.
The two grants are among five announced by the NSF that aim to accelerate the translation of AI-based approaches to protein design and enable important new applications for the U.S. bioeconomy as part of the NSF’s Accelerating Use-Inspired Protein Design (NSF USPRD).
“These efforts aim to unlock new uses of this technology in biomanufacturing, advanced materials and other critical industries. Simply put, NSF USPRD represents a strategic investment to maintain U.S. leadership in biotechnology at a time of intense global competition,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF deputy director for TIP, in a press release.
AI technology has recently enabled rapid progress in predicting the 3D structures of proteins and using this knowledge to design new proteins with specific and desirable characteristics. The NSF investment aims to build on this foundation by bringing together experts nationwide, extending these advances to enzyme design, and accelerating the translation of this work into widespread and real-world applications.
Enzymes for acrylates
Acrylates are expensive molecules used in paints, plexiglass and super-absorbent materials. This project in collaboration with Arzeda, a biotechnology company based in Seattle, aims to transform the production of acrylates by designing new enzymes for rapid, affordable and scalable production.
This project has the potential to accelerate the commercialization of advanced protein engineering, thereby spurring innovation and growth in the U.S. bioeconomy, with benefits for both industries and consumers. UC Davis activities will be led by Program Director Ashley Vater (Genome Center) with Professor Justin Siegel (Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and IIFH Educational Director).
Complementing the research goals inspired by the use of the project, UC Davis will spearhead the expansion of Design to dataa student training program in protein design, putting this project in the hands of thousands of students nationwide.
“Every biological sciences student should have the opportunity to explore protein design – it is a rapidly evolving field with significant room for growth. The most effective entry point is a hands-on research project; this motivates our efforts,” Vater said.
Reproduce breast milk
Breast milk contains complex sugars (breast milk oligosaccharides or HMOs) that are essential for infant health and development but difficult to produce. In collaboration with Davis-based Novozymes, this project will use advanced enzyme engineering, machine learning and cell-free protein synthesis to develop and optimize tools for the synthesis of these oligosaccharides. This work aims to overcome challenges in infant formula production and supports the development of novel enzyme systems with commercial properties for broader applications in human health and nutrition.
Siegel will lead the UC Davis portion of the three-year project.