Proteins are the molecular machines of all living cells and have been exploited for use in many applications, including therapeutics and industrial catalysts. To overcome the limitations of naturally occurring proteins, protein engineering is used to improve protein characteristics such as stability and functionality. In a new study, researchers demonstrate a machine learning algorithm that accelerates the protein engineering process.

A workgroup including Illinois Computer Science professors Mohammed El-Kebir (IGOH) and Jian Peng (CABBI), as co-principal investigators, produced a preprint research paper serving as the “first comprehensive analysis at a large scale that attempts to identify genomic signatures of SARS-CoV-2 strains that occur