New research group leader at the MPI of Biochemistry
From July 1, 2024, Lukas Milles will head the new Emmy Noether Research Group Biomolecular Design at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry.
Lukas Milles will begin his research at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich and at the LMU Munich on July 1, 2024. Together with his team, the new Emmy Noether Research Group Biomolecular Design will work at the interface between the design of novel proteins using deep learning methods and the fundamental biophysics of protein function. Lukas Milles explains: "I feel very close to the scientific location of Martinsried and Munich and am looking forward to the exciting and collaborative scientific environment offered by the Max Planck Institute and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität".
The Research Group Biomolecular Design
Proteins are the central building blocks of life. In the form of enzymes, for example, they serve as catalysts in metabolic processes, as pores in biological membranes, or as antibodies in our immune system. The basic building blocks of proteins are amino acids, which are linked together to form long molecular chains. In order for proteins to perform specific functions, they must be folded into a defined three-dimensional structure. The rational design of completely new proteins de novo, long considered almost impossible, has undergone a revolution in recent years, in which Lukas Milles has played a key role. Deep learning-based methods make it possible to create much more complex and diverse functional proteins than ever before - with promising potential for biomedical applications.
Lukas Milles and his team will use artificial intelligence to design novel proteins on the computer that fulfill certain desired functions. The proteins will then be produced and analyzed in the lab in a high-throughput process. Lukas Milles says: "This will allow us to rapidly translate proteins from an idea to a blueprint in the computer and finally test them in the lab. We are particularly interested in creating "enzyme harpoons" in the laboratory that can recognize specific target structures, such as characteristic surface proteins of pathogens, and bind them irreversibly, thus inactivating them.
About Lukas Milles
Lukas Milles studied physics and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich from 2007 to 2013. In 2018, Lukas Milles completed his doctorate in physics and biophysics at LMU under Hermann Gaub. In 2019, he received a doctoral prize from the Munich University Society for his thesis. Since the end of 2019, Milles has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Protein Design led by David Baker at the University of Washington in Seattle. He has been a member of the Faculty of Biochemistry there since January 2024. Since July 2024, he heads the Emmy Noether Research Group Protein Design at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry with simultaneous affiliation at the Gene Center, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy at LMU.
[cm]
Dictionary of the Biomolecular Design Research Group:
De novo protein design: refers to the process of designing novel amino acid sequences that encode structurally novel and functional proteins not found in nature.
Amino acids: are the 20 basic building blocks of proteins. They are linked to form long amino acid chains, which, depending on the sequence of the specific ones, influence the structure and thus the function of the proteins.
Deep learning: is a part of machine learning in which artificial neural networks are used to process huge, complex amounts of data.
Epitope: is a specific molecular structure against which the immune system can form antibodies or T-cell receptors as an adapted immune response.
Enzymes: are proteins that act as catalysts. This means that their involvement accelerates biological reactions.