#AlphaFold
DeepMind AI, co-founded by Queens' Fellow Dr Demis Hassabis, has 'largely solved' a 50-year old biological challenge, with potentially transformational impact on medicine
Dr Demis Hassabis CBE (1994 matric) is a Fellow Benefactor & Honorary Fellow of the College. He has announced that the latest version of their AI system has been recognised as a solution to the "protein folding problem" grand challenge by the organisers of the biennial Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction (CASP). It is part of Dr Hassabis's efforts to "productionise" cutting edge innovations.
Read more on the DeepMind website.
Dr Hassabis read Computer Science at Queens' under the guidance of then Director of Studies Dr Robin Walker. He recently contributed to The Robin Walker Fellowship in Computer Science, endowed in his old mentor's honour.
He has also generously endowed The Hassabis Fellowship in Computer Science, which is currently held by Professor Andrew Rice, Professor at the Department of Computer Science & Technology and Director of Studies for part IA Computer Science students at Queens'.
Professor Rice is one of four Computer Science Fellows at Queens'. Another is Professor Neil Lawrence, who also holds the DeepMind Professorship of Machine Learning at the University. Our other CompSci Fellows are Professor Alastair Beresford, Deputy Head of the Department of Computer Science & Technology and DoS for parts IB, II & III CompSci students, and Dr Ramsey Faragher of FocalPoint fame.
Dr Hassabis was elected as a Fellow Benefactor in 2015 and an Honorary Fellow in 2018.
In an interview for The Bridge in 2014, he said of Cambridge:
The history of the place is very inspiring. I remember saying to a friend of mine, as we walked along a quiet King’s Parade very late one night, how amazing it was to be walking on the very same cobblestones as Newton, Rutherford, Crick, Russell and all the other greats! To me it felt as though intelligence and invention were literally seeping out of the ancient walls. It was incredibly exciting!
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, current President of Queens', said:
Queens’ colleagues and I were delighted to hear the news of yet another transformational discovery by Demis and his team at DeepMind. It is so inspiring to see Demis use his brilliance and apply innovative AI solution to problems that have long challenged humanity.
Dr Hassabis at his admission as an Honorary Fellow in 2018.
Dr Hassabis at his admission as an Honorary Fellow in 2018.
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