# David Baker

> David Baker is a Seattle-born biochemist and University of Washington professor whose lab turned protein-structure prediction into a way to design entirely new proteins. He founded the Institute for Protein Design, co-founded Xaira Therapeutics, and received half of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design.

- **Role:** Director, Institute for Protein Design; Professor of Biochemistry, University of Washington; Co-founder, Xaira Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** University of Washington, Institute for Protein Design, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baker Lab, Xaira Therapeutics, RosettaCommons
- **From:** Seattle, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Harvard University, PhD in Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Postdoctoral research in biophysics, University of California, San Francisco
- **Known for:** Awarded half of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design., Co-led the design of Top7, an entirely new protein fold reported in 2003., Founded the Institute for Protein Design in 2012.

## Career timeline

- **1962** — Born in Seattle, Washington.
- **1984** — Graduated from Harvard University.
- **1989** — Earned a PhD in biochemistry at UC Berkeley under Randy Schekman.
- **1993** — Joined the University of Washington faculty.
- **1998** — Baker and collaborators created Rosetta for protein structure prediction.
- **2003** — His team designed Top7, a protein with a fold not previously seen in nature.
- **2006** — A hike with David Salesin helped spark the idea for Foldit.
- **2012** — Founded the University of Washington Institute for Protein Design.
- **2024** — Co-founded Xaira Therapeutics; received half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design.
- **2026** — Elected to the US National Academy of Engineering.

## Achievements

- Awarded half of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design.
- Co-led the design of Top7, an entirely new protein fold reported in 2003.
- Founded the Institute for Protein Design in 2012.
- Developed Rosetta with collaborators; the software evolved into RosettaCommons.
- Co-founded 21 biotechnology companies by 2024, including Xaira Therapeutics.
- Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006 and National Academy of Engineering in 2026.
- Received the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
- **2026-01** — Delivered an Allen School Distinguished Lecture on designing new protein functions with deep learning.
- **2024-10** — Awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for computational protein design.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bakerlab.org/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-baker
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-29