Protein structure prediction with AlphaFold
Proteins are essential to life, supporting practically all its functions. They are large complex molecules, made up of chains of amino acids, and what a protein does largely depends on its unique 3D structure. Figuring out what shapes proteins fold into is known as the “protein folding problem”, and has stood as a grand challenge in biology for the past 50 years. In a major scientific advance, the latest version of AI system AlphaFold has been recognised as a solution to this grand challenge by the organisers of the biennial Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction (CASP). This breakthrough demonstrates the impact AI can have on scientific discovery and its potential to dramatically accelerate progress in some of the most fundamental fields that explain and shape our world.

In this talk, Dr. John Jumper (DeepMind), the research lead of the AlphaFold team, will describe how this incredible achievement came to be and discuss its future potential.
Date: 23 February 2022, 18:30 (Wednesday, 6th week, Hilary 2022)
Venue: Rewley House, 1-7 Wellington Square OX1 2JA
Speaker: Dr. John Jumper (DeepMind)
Organisers: Lorenzo Piersante (Department of Physics), Carlos Outeiral (Department of Statistics)
Organiser contact email address: scientific.society@studentclubs.ox.ac.uk
Host: Carlos Outeiral (Department of Statistics)
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://fixr.co/event/520322871
Audience: Public
Editor: Carlos Outeiral Rubiera