March 3, 2011 - 4:13pm
University lab group takes first place in Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction
BY HALEY GLATTHORN
A University laboratory group won first place in a recent scientific competition for their ability to predict protein structure and function, according to a Jan. 5 University of Michigan Health System press release.
Led by Dr. Yang Zhang, the group represented UMHS and competed against more than 200 other groups for recognition in the Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction.
Zhang’s group consisted of Rackham graduate student Ambrish Roy, Dr. Dong Xu and Dr. Jian Zhang, both postdoctoral fellows.
To win the competition, group members had to predict as accurately as possible the three dimensional shape and function of more than 100 unknown proteins based solely on their amino acid sequences. To perform this task, the press release stated that the group used an algorithm developed by Zhang’s lab.
This algorithm is available online and is currently used in 89 countries by approximately 15,000 registered scientists to further their research.
The press release stated that progress in this area is crucial to the health care industry as it can ease the costs of health research and advance work on diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
The University team made up of the same members also took first place in the competition in 2006 and 2008, according to the press release.
