Seattle Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the IPD Breakthrough Fund at Seattle Foundation. This new fund supports the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD) to advance this rapidly developing field of protein design. Through the utilization of computer-designed synthetic proteins, IPD is developing solutions to today’s challenges in medicine, energy, and technology—including innovations in vaccines that combat COVID-19 and other viral threats.

Imagine what a pandemic response might look like in an ideal world. What do you envision?

Less isolation from family and friends. Uninterrupted education for our children. Lifesaving vaccines quickly made available to everyone around the globe. A vision so different from what we are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We can make it happen. But we need universal vaccines that can protect us from entire families of viruses. And we need faster vaccine development when the next novel virus emerges.

“The role of philanthropy in catalyzing the protein design revolution can’t be overstated,” says Neil King, PhD, a biochemist at the IPD. “It’s been absolutely essential, allowing us to seize the moment by providing flexible funding that we can direct to the most important problems of the day. When SARS-CoV-2 hit, philanthropic support enabled us to immediately pivot and attack this problem with everything we had.”

Soon, the IPD’s work will receive additional funding. David Baker, PhD, director of the IPD, is the 2021 recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, which recognizes the world’s top scientists working in the fundamental sciences. This prestigious award includes a $3 million prize, the full amount of which Baker is donating to the IPD. Baker’s gift — which was matched generously by friends of the IPD — establishes the Breakthrough Fund at Seattle Foundation, which solely supports the IPD to advance the rapidly developing field of protein design.

But ongoing support will be needed to keep advancing the IPD’s bold mission.

Read the full article about protein design at Seattle Foundation.