UW/Basic Sciences team wins best-paper prize from AAAS

Brief

Dr. David Baker, a University of Washington associate professor of biochemistry, Dr. Barry Stoddard, Basic Sciences Division investigator, and colleagues have been named recipients of the 2003-2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Newcomb Cleveland Prize. The prize recognizes the authors of an outstanding paper published in the AAAS journal Science. The award, which comes with a prize of $25,000 to be shared among the authors, will be presented at a reception during the AAAS annual meeting Feb. 17-21 in Washington, D.C.

The research team included Stoddard's former graduate student Gregory Ireton as well as several members of Baker's lab.

Their paper, "Design of a Novel Globular Fold with Atomic-Level Accuracy," described the first successful use of a computer program to design and build a novel protein never before seen in nature. The engineering feat represents a major leap in scientists' understanding of how the three-dimensional molecules that carry out all of life's activities fold into their proper shapes. The ability to create designer proteins with specific functions could pave the way for creating novel therapeutic molecules for treating cancer and other diseases.

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