Accelerating Antibiotic Discovery Using AI - On Tech Ethics

Discusses the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate antibiotic discovery. 

Our guest today is César de la Fuente who is a Presidential Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. César’s research focuses on using computational approaches to accelerate discoveries in biology and medicine. Specifically, he pioneered the development of the first computer-designed antibiotic with efficacy in animal models, demonstrating the application of AI for antibiotic discovery and helping launch this emerging field. 
 

Related publications: 

• Pioneering study describing an antibiotic designed by AI with efficacy in preclinical mouse models: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03746-3 
• First exploration of the human proteome as a source of antibiotics, yielding numerous preclinical candidates: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-021-00801-1 
• First therapeutic molecules (i.e., antibiotics) identified in extinct organisms, launching the field of molecular de-extinction: https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/pdfExtended/S1931-3128(23)00296-2 
• Relevant review in Science with the Collins Lab covering this emerging field: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh1114 

Related media coverage: 

• STAT - “Giant sloths and woolly mammoths: Mining past creatures’ DNA for future antibiotics:” https://www.statnews.com/2023/10/25/antibiotics-resistance-ancient-dna-cesar-de-la-fuente/ 
• Vox - “Using AI, scientists bring Neanderthal antibiotics back from extinction:” https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23811682/ai-neanderthal-antibiotics-extinction 
• CNN - “Why ‘resurrection biology’ is gaining traction around the world:” https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/26/world/resurrection-biology-extinct-species-virus-scn/index.html 

Additional resources: 

• De La Fuente Lab: http://delafuentelab.seas.upenn.edu/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cesardelafuentenunez/ 
• X: https://twitter.com/delafuenteupenn 
• CITI Program’s Bioethics course: https://about.citiprogram.org/course/bioethics/ 
• CITI Program’s Technology, Ethics, and Regulations course: https://about.citiprogram.org/course/technology-ethics-and-regulations/