AI Research
Nov 2, 2026
MIT Researchers Regina Barzilay and Jim Collins Awarded 2026 Pritzker Prize for AI in Antibiotic Discovery
Nov 2, 2026
AI Summary
Regina Barzilay and Jim Collins from MIT have received the 2026 Pritzker Prize for their innovative work in AI-enabled antibiotic discovery. Their research focuses on using deep learning to identify new antibiotics, addressing the urgent issue of drug-resistant pathogens.
- Regina Barzilay and James Collins, both professors at MIT, have been awarded the 2026 Pritzker Prize for AI in Science Research Excellence.
- The prize recognizes their contributions to AI-enabled antibiotic discovery, which combines deep learning, bioengineering, and experimental validation.
- Their notable work includes the discovery of halicin, the first antibiotic identified by AI, which effectively targets antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Halicin was discovered using a deep learning model trained on 2,500 molecules and was initially studied as a diabetes drug.
- Following halicin, they identified abaucin in 2023, a narrow-spectrum antibiotic effective against Acinetobacter baumannii, a common hospital-acquired infection.
- The Pritzker Prize was established in 2024 by the University of Chicago and Caltech to honor advancements in AI and natural sciences or engineering.
- Barzilay and Collins are co-leads of the Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health at MIT.
- Their research aims to revolutionize antibiotic discovery, which has traditionally been a slow and costly process.
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