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AI helps design bespoke mRNA cancer vaccine for dog

By LDS Team · How we report||
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AI helps design bespoke mRNA cancer vaccine for dog
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Australian tech entrepreneur Paul Conyngham worked with University of New South Wales researchers to produce a personalised mRNA vaccine for his dog Rosie, who was diagnosed with mast cell cancer, after conventional surgery and chemotherapy failed, according to reporting by ABC, Fortune and The Scientist. Conyngham used large language models and protein-structure tools - including ChatGPT and AlphaFold - to process tumour sequencing and identify neoantigen targets, per The Scientist and Fortune. UNSW researcher Pall Thordarson and colleagues formulated an mRNA vaccine that, multiple outlets report, shrank Rosie's tumours and improved her mobility. ABC reports scientists warning that Australian regulatory requirements are "outdated" and are impeding translation of AI-assisted personalised therapies into human clinical care.

What happened

Rosie, a Staffordshire-cross dog, was diagnosed with mast cell cancer and did not respond to surgery and conventional therapies, according to reporting in The Scientist and Fortune. Paul Conyngham, a Sydney-based tech entrepreneur, used tumour sequencing data and off-the-shelf AI tools to help identify candidate neoantigens, per The Scientist, Fortune, and UNSW communications. Researchers at the University of New South Wales led by Pall Thordarson used Conyngham's data to produce a bespoke mRNA vaccine, and multiple outlets report the vaccine reduced measurable tumour burden and improved Rosie's mobility (reported by Fortune, The Scientist, and ABC).

Technical details

Reporting states Conyngham employed ChatGPT to help plan experiments and analyse sequence outputs, and used AlphaFold to predict mutated protein structures for target selection, per The Scientist and Fortune. UNSW sequencing at the Ramaciotti Centre and downstream antigen-selection workflows converted tumour tissue into sequence data that informed design of personalized mRNA constructs, as described in the university's public coverage and news articles. The timeline presented in media coverage places rapid design and synthesis within weeks to months rather than years, according to Fortune and The Scientist.