TAIPEI (TVBS News) — National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (陽明交通大學) announced Monday (Nov. 24) that associate professor Wei-Cheng Lo (羅惟正) successfully collaborated with Nobel laureate Arieh Warshel to develop a breakthrough protein structure alignment search algorithm. The revolutionary high-efficiency search algorithm could significantly accelerate drug development by helping scientists better understand complex drug-target interactions. This important development addresses a longstanding and persistent challenge in the global scientific community.
Lo emphasized that protein function fundamentally depends on its complex 3D structure, with AlphaFold2's groundbreaking 2020 emergence dramatically increasing protein structure data by a thousandfold. The massive data increase necessitated developing a completely new generation of high-performance algorithms for comprehensive analysis. Lo developed his computational biology interest under inspiration from former engineering and bioscience dean Jenn-Kang Hwang (黃鎮剛) and began regular monthly online meetings with Warshel in 2022.
Lo's research team successfully developed the innovative SARST2 algorithm, integrating advanced AI and structural computation technology with remarkable performance hundreds to tens of thousands of times faster than existing algorithms. The revolutionary algorithm significantly reduces memory and disk usage requirements while attracting considerable attention from industry players. Altos Computing, a subsidiary of major technology company Acer Group (宏碁集團), provided high-end AI servers to support the team's efficient remote computing environment.
The research team successfully presented the groundbreaking SARST2 algorithm in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications in September this year. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (陽明交通大學) hopes for future industry-academia collaboration to apply AI technology in cutting-edge topics such as quantum bioinformatics, biomedical big data analysis, and protein drug development. These innovative cutting-edge applications represent the next phase of the breakthrough research with significant potential impact. ◼