ProtheraEGFR aims to tackle cancer resistance with artificial intelligence-designed miniproteins
The proposal ProtheraEGFR succeeded in the Helmholtz Association’s (HFG) call for joint projects in biomedical engineering. Three Helmholtz centers, among them the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) with its Görlitz-based institute CASUS, and one University Medical Center will now receive about 1.5 million euro from the Helmholtz Initiative and Networking fund. The call, open to all 18 Helmholtz centers in Germany, seeks to drive transformative innovations. By involving a university hospital, the scope of the ProtheraEGFR project is clearly on transferring research insights into a clinical benefit.
By employing the latest developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) to design novel proteins, the scientists aim to address one of the most important roadblocks in modern-day cancer therapy: cancer resistance. The ProtheraEGFR team plans to design so-called miniproteins. These are folded and more stable than peptides but smaller and less complex than typical proteins. Clinically, the focus will be on cancer types with proven specific mutations in the EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) gene.
Additional information:
Prof. Artur Yakimovich
Young Investigator
Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR
Press contact:
Dr. Martin Laqua
Officer Communications, Press and Public Relations
Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR
AI-based protein design against cancer drugs. Image: ProtheraEGFR (generated by Nanobanana in Gemini 3.0)
The ProtheraEGFR consortium comprises five research group leaders (in alphabetical order): Dr. Alina Bazarova (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, FZJ), Dr. Oliver Daumke (Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC), Dr. Mikhail Kudryashev (MDC), Dr. Dietrich Ruess (Medical Center University of Freiburg) and Prof. Artur Yakimovich (CASUS at HZDR). The MDC scientists are experts in structural biology. Bazarova and Yakimovich are AI specialists and Ruess is the clinical research authority in the team.
The team’s ambition to transfer the research results into clinical practice is also reflected in its intention to establish a spin-off for commercializing the obtained candidate therapeutics.
The 1.5 million euro from the Helmholtz President’s Initiative and Networking fund will be topped up to 2 million euro by the partners so that about five postdoctoral researchers can work on the project for the next three years (the CASUS position is about generative AI de novo protein design). The Helmholtz Biomedical Engineering Initiative is a Helmholtz research campaign starting in 2026. ProtheraEGFR is one of ten initiatives to receive funding.
Additional information:
Prof. Artur Yakimovich
Young Investigator
Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR
Press contact:
Dr. Martin Laqua
Officer Communications, Press and Public Relations Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at HZDR