Opportunities

Changjiang Cup 2026: global AI protein design challenge (nanobodies and minibinders, free wet-lab testing, about RMB 1.4M prizes)

DeadlineNovember 30, 2026
EligibilityOpen worldwide; no restrictions on age, education, profession or affiliation; no registration fee.
Fundingabout RMB 1,400,000 prize pool (before tax)

Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Institute of Natural Sciences runs a free-to-enter, worldwide challenge to design nanobodies (VHH) or minibinders de novo against 7 targets (EGFR, TNF-α, GLP-1R, TfR1, TL1A, TNFR1, IL-7Rα). Ranking is by measured binding in wet-lab tests, which the organizers run free for 7,000 candidate sequences; up to 20 sequences per team per track; any method, including LLM agents. Prize pool about RMB 1.4 million. Targets are announced on 1 November 2026; registration and sequence submission close 30 November 2026. AI-for-science item, not phage-specific.

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