Finding medicines for understudied human proteins using AI
Official title: AI-powered chemical proteomics for drug discovery targeting orphan proteins
Funded at Northeastern University · NIH-11471580 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are using AI plus large-scale chemical proteomics to find which small molecules bind and change the activity of understudied human proteins that may be linked to disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northeastern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2017 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $381,849 |
| NIH project number | 7R01GM122845-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11471580 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients whose conditions are linked to genes or proteins that currently lack drug treatments, or those willing to provide samples or join future translational studies, would be most relevant.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking an immediate personal clinical benefit or those with conditions already well controlled by existing therapies are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this basic discovery work.
What this research studies
If you have a condition tied to a poorly studied protein, this project aims to find chemicals that stick to those proteins and show whether they turn the protein on or off. The team combines AI models with large genomics and proteomics datasets and high-throughput lab assays to predict protein-chemical interactions and ligand-induced functional effects. Promising predictions are then validated in experiments to confirm binding and functional impact. The goal is to reveal new biological targets and possible starting points for drug development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new drug targets among previously unstudied proteins and speed the discovery of treatments for diseases with unmet needs.
How similar studies have gone: Related AI-driven drug-discovery and chemical proteomics efforts have produced promising leads before, but applying these methods genome-wide to 'dark' proteins is relatively new and experimental.
Where this research is happening
-
Northeastern University
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xie, Lei — Northeastern University
- Study coordinator: Xie, Lei
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.