Nobel Prize in Chemistry Goes to UW Professor David Baker

2024 prize awarded for groundbreaking work in protein design

"This is as good as it gets! We are so proud to be the home of some of the most remarkable, creative, innovative and talented faculty, and we don't have a better example of that than David. They are the reason we're recognized as one of the top public universities in the world in terms of positive impact."
Ana Mari CaucePresident, 香蜜影视

On Oct. 8, David Baker was already an accomplished biochemistry professor in the 香蜜影视 School of Medicine: a computational biologist with more than 640 peer-reviewed research papers, 100 secured patents, and 21 biotech start-ups. But none of that prepared him for the 2 a.m. phone call from Sweden, when Baker learned he’d joined the upper echelon of prestigious international honorees as a recipient of the . Baker is now the eighth UW faculty Nobel laureate.

Baker鈥檚 Nobel Prize recognizes his innovative work in computational protein design. The 62-year-old Garfield High School graduate has spent his career at the intersection of medicine and computer science. (His wife, Hannele Ruohola-Baker, is also a UW biochemistry professor, and his parents are retired UW faculty.) Baker is the director of the UW Medicine鈥, whose mission is to create new proteins that solve modern challenges across medicine, technology and sustainability.

Baker and his team use computing power and artificial intelligence to design entirely new protein structures
鈥 what he鈥檚 referred to as 鈥渢he workhorses of all living things鈥 鈥 rather than simply amending existing ones. The applications of this science are endless: defense against viruses, targeting and attacking cancer cells, even combating pollution by breaking down harmful plastics in the environment.

“If you look at David’s work, this is about taking these great basic science ideas and pushing them out so that they make a difference in the world,” says UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “That’s what we are all about, and what we want to be for the state and the world.”

Baker鈥檚 co-recipients are Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, artificial intelligence researchers at . The Nobel Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on Dec. 10.

What鈥檚 next for protein design? Artificial intelligence鈥檚 effect on Baker鈥檚 work makes the impact limitless. “I’m very, very excited about the future,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think protein design has huge potential to make the world a better place, and I really do think that we’re just at the very beginning.”

Find out more about Baker鈥檚 work at the , which has been supported by donors, foundations and government grants.

A day to remember: Capturing the moment in real time

Highlights from the 24 hours after Professor David Baker was selected for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

"I want to thank Ana Mari [Cauce] and Tim [Dellit] for making the 香蜜影视 an absolutely wonderful place to do science. It's an incredibly collaborative place, and I've never felt here that there were ever any boundaries within the University."
David BakerProfessor of Biochemistry, Director of the Institute for Protein Design at the UW School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

Celebrating a Nobel achievement

Messages and celebrations from around the world on social media honored the team’s accomplishments.

  • The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPrize in Chemistry with one half to David Baker 鈥渇or computational protein design鈥 and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper 鈥渇or protein structure prediction.鈥, The Nobel Prize

    The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPrize in Chemistry with one half to David Baker 鈥渇or computational protein design鈥 and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper 鈥渇or protein structure prediction.鈥

    The Nobel Prize

  • It's not easy to get hold of a newly awarded Nobel Prize laureate! We are happy that chemistry laureate David Baker took our call, as he turned down "100 calls" while he was on the phone with us., The Nobel Prize

    It's not easy to get hold of a newly awarded Nobel Prize laureate! We are happy that chemistry laureate David Baker took our call, as he turned down "100 calls" while he was on the phone with us.

    The Nobel Prize

  • Warmest congratulations to Nobel Laureate, David Baker! We are so incredibly proud of you and your contributions to the field of protein design. Onward and upward!, King Lab

    Warmest congratulations to Nobel Laureate, David Baker! We are so incredibly proud of you and your contributions to the field of protein design. Onward and upward!

    King Lab

  • Here we see Dr. David Baker @UWproteindesign holding a 3D printed model of the predecessor of the COVID vaccine, a self-assembling protein nano particle called I3-01, UW Medicine

    Here we see Dr. David Baker @UWproteindesign holding a 3D printed model of the predecessor of the COVID vaccine, a self-assembling protein nano particle called I3-01

    UW Medicine

Fuel the Future of Science

David Baker鈥檚 groundbreaking work in protein design has been made possible by the generous support of donors, foundations and government grants. Their contributions have driven discoveries that are transforming our world. Your support today can propel the next wave of innovations that will shape the future and save lives.