MAKE – Designing life with AI

Here at EPFL, we’re more than just studying life—we’re actively designing it!

Our group, made up of about 30 talented students, is divided into various projects, including kinase engineering, metabolism engineering, and binder design. We leverage cutting-edge generative AI models in Life Sciences to explore exciting frontiers. Guided by eight EPFL professors and their PhD students, we’re working at the forefront of protein design and engineering.

What can you expect from this project?

By joining us, you’ll step into the vast and promising world of protein design! You will start by researching and identifying useful protein structures or selecting a project based on suggestions from professors or industry partners. Your work may involve generating entirely new proteins, modifying known ones, or pursuing other innovative ideas.

Once you have a project direction, you’ll develop a strategy to create and test your new protein. Many of our members use AI to design their protein structures and then validate their designs in the wet lab. You’ll learn how to test whether your protein folds and functions as expected.

Along the way, you’ll gain expertise in computational biology and molecular biology while becoming the leader of your own research project!

If you join this project, you will benefit from the help and advices of old members and have the opportunity to use all required materials for your experiments. After some time hopefully you will become a mentor yourself and it would be your turn to help new students taking their first steps into the world of research!

Kinesin protein 3D animated GIF by John Liebler

Join us on our adventure, follow kinesin’s path, and carry your project wherever it leads you!

For more information about our current and past projects, open projects for new students, team members, news, or how to join us, please visit our website here:

https://www.designinglifewithai.com/

We look forward to hear from you!

 

Interesting articles for current members, inspirations:

AI tools for protein design

Proteins that switch conformation

Proteins for biological materials

Proteins as food (precision fermentation)

Enzymes for green energy

Antibodies and binders

GPCRs

Prions and amyloids

Aging

Proteins for logical operations