David Baker
David Baker is a biochemist at the University of Washington who designs proteins with computer methods, and his recent work includes AI tools for generating functional proteins. He designed a new protein unlike any other in 2003, and the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences honored a technology for designing proteins never seen before in nature. His group's RFdiffusion, a diffusion model for generating new proteins, appeared in Nature in July 2023. He received half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design in 2024. As of October 2026, he is founder and director of the Institute for Protein Design.
Timeline
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1989
A Berkeley doctorate
He works on protein transport in yeast and completes a biochemistry PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.
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1993–2000
Faculty at the University of Washington
He joins the biochemistry department at the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1993. He becomes a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in 2000.
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2003
A protein unlike any other
In 2003 he designs a new protein unlike any other, using computer-based methods he developed.
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2021
A Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
He wins the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for a technology that designs proteins never seen before in nature.
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July 2023
The RFdiffusion model
His group develops RFdiffusion, a diffusion model for generating new proteins, and the paper appears in Nature in July 2023.
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2024
A Nobel Prize in Chemistry
He receives half of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design. His recent work includes AI tools for generating functional proteins.
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2025
A National Academy of Inventors fellowship
He is elected to the 2025 class of National Academy of Inventors fellows.
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As of October 2026
Directing the Institute for Protein Design
He is founder and director of the Institute for Protein Design.
Sources and credits
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- David Baker (biochemist) - Wikipedia
- David Baker – Facts – 2024 - NobelPrize.org
- David Baker – 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
- Nature: “AI tools are designing entirely new proteins that could transform medicine” – Institute for Protein Design
- David Baker wins Nobel Prize for protein design – Institute for Protein Design
- TIME names David Baker among 100 Most Influential People in health
- UW Researchers David Baker and Lih-Yuan Lin elected to National Academy of Inventors - UW Research
- About Us – Institute for Protein Design