The centre, launching in August and based at the University of Copenhagen​, will advance developments in protein design and its applications through strong interdisciplinary collaborations across the world - including Bristol. Its aim is to create a leading international hub, which will harness the huge potential of proteins.

Designed proteins are anticipated to have groundbreaking impact on a range of issues from detecting and treating disease to tackling environmental problems.

“The great leaps in understanding proteins and in computational design, including AI, that have been made recently give us tools to start designing artificial proteins with confidence, and the resulting possibilities seem almost endless,” said Professor Woolfson.

“However, there is still a lot of work to do before the full potential of protein design is realised. The CPD will play a key role in this, including driving fundamental research, and translating it into real-life applications. I am very excited by this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to establishing and leading the centre.”

Professor Woolfson will also be continuing his role at the University of Bristol.