NIH-funded research NIH-funded research

Self-supervised deep learning for biological sequences

Official title: Multi-view self-supervised deep learning for biological sequences and beyond

Funded at University of South Florida · NIH-11581695 · Data updated 2026-11-12

A deep learning project uses self-supervised methods to better understand biological sequences and related data, with the goal of advancing biology and medicine.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of South Florida
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Tampa, United States)
Project startMay 1, 2018
Project endJuly 31, 2028
Funding year2026
Award (this year)$375,000
NIH project number7R35GM126985-09
Project IDNIH-11581695 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Not applicable for direct patient participation; this is a computational biology project.

Less likely to help

No direct patient involvement in the research activities.

What this research studies

This project applies self-supervised deep learning to biological sequences and related problems to improve predictions and design in biology and medicine. It builds on prior DL work from the Xu lab, developing new algorithms, software, and web resources for researchers. The work includes protein sequence analysis, drug design, molecular dynamics, and single-cell data interpretation, with an emphasis on generalizability without heavy reliance on labeled data.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve our ability to predict biological properties from sequences and enable faster, more reliable tools for biology and drug discovery.

How similar studies have gone: Prior self-supervised learning approaches have shown promise in biological sequence analysis and related areas, with growing adoption of SSL in bioinformatics.

Where this research is happening

  • University of South Florida
    Tampa, United States
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Xu, Dong — University of South Florida
  • Study coordinator: Xu, Dong

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.