The Senate of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) established the Priority Programme “Artificial Intelligence for Protein Function (AI4PF)” (SPP 2546). The programme is designed to run for six years. The present call invites proposals for the first three-year funding period.

Computational methods, particularly those based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), have recently led to transformative advances in protein science. The ability to predict native protein structures from amino-acid sequences has resolved long-standing challenges in computational biology. However, the protein-folding problem encompasses more than static structure prediction. Sequences encode dynamic folding pathways, environmental responsiveness, intracellular localisation and complex interactions with ligands including catalytic activity, conformational changes, for example, in transport mechanisms – functional dimensions that remain largely inaccessible to current AI-driven design approaches. The SPP 2546 AI4PF addresses these limitations by supporting research that develops new computational methods for the design of experimentally validated functional proteins by integrating AI with chemical and biophysical representations of the polypeptide chain.

For the purpose of this SPP, we define the following core areas: 

• development of new AI methods for functional protein design including customised functions and dynamic properties;
• expanding the designable sequence space beyond what nature has explored, e.g. by including non-canonical amino acids or posttranslational modifications;
• integration of AI methods with physical models to improve predictive power and design capabilities;
• surmounting limitations of restricted and heterogeneous training datasets, e.g. by creating or curating novel experimental datasets for training and validation; and
• overcoming evolutionary constraints embedded in existing protein data and AI methods to design proteins truly de novo.

Proposals will be evaluated according to these research areas. Addressing multiple areas will be a plus. We explicitly include the design of smaller proteins/peptides, as long as they form a tertiary structure/structured core/folded domain. 

Computational method development and experimental validation should go hand in hand. Tandems consisting of a computational and an experimental PI are encouraged to tightly link both aspects. All projects must integrate experimental validation of designed proteins in terms of structure, dynamics or function. The ideal project includes characterisation of structure, dynamics or biophysics in addition to biochemical function of the designed protein.

Thus, to maintain the focus on this SPP, projects are deemed not responsive if they:

• fail to integrate innovative AI method development with experimental validation demonstrating a molecular link between computational design and resulting structure, dynamics and function;
• engage in classic small molecule drug discovery or focus on engineering of other biomolecules such as RNA or DNA;
• rely primarily on manual/classical/rational protein engineering;
• rely primarily on experimental approaches such as directed evolution;
• rely primarily on existing/standard computational methods or pipelines;
• focus on non-molecular approaches such as systems biology.

A networking meeting, including short presentations of the planned projects followed by discussions, will be held on 24/25 November 2025 at the University of Leipzig. Participation is optional. Applicants who would like to attend in this network meeting are asked to send an e-mail to wirkstoffentwicklung@uni-leipzig.de(externer Link) by 5 November 2025 for organisational purposes.

Proposal Instructions

Please submit your proposal to the DFG by 3 March 2026. Proposals are to be submitted solely via the elan portal(externer Link), the DFG’s electronic proposal processing system, in order to ensure proposal-related data is recorded and documents are securely transmitted. To submit a proposal, go to Proposal Submission – New Project/Draft Proposal – Priority Programmes and select “SPP 2546” from the current list of calls.

If this is the first time you are submitting a proposal to the DFG, please note that you must register in the elan portal before you can submit your proposal. You must do so by 23 February 2026. During the registration process, select “SPP 2546” from the list of calls. You will normally receive confirmation of your registration by the next working day.

When preparing your proposal, please note the Guidelines Priority Programme (DFG form 50.05(interner Link), section B “Individual Projects within Existing Priority Programmes”) and the Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals (DFG form 54.01(interner Link)). These forms are available on the DFG website and through the elan portal.

Equity and Diversity

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness. With regard to the subject-specific focus of this call, the DFG encourages female researchers in particular to submit proposals.

Good Research Practice

According to a resolution of the DFG General Assembly, DFG funding may only be awarded to research institutions that have implemented the guidelines laid down in the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice(externer Link) in their own regulations. The management of your institution is responsible for implementing the guidelines in a legally binding manner. In order to avoid delays in the disbursement of funding, please verify implementation within your institution in good time. For information regarding the implementation, please refer to the Research Integrity Portal(externer Link). If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the Research Integrity team(externer Link) at the DFG Head Office.

Further Information

When submitting a proposal, please use the elan portal(externer Link) and refer to the Guidelines Priority Programme (DFG form 50.05(interner Link), section B “Individual Projects within Existing Priority Programmes”), and the Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals (DFG form 54.01(interner Link)). The FAQ about preparing a proposal(interner Link) may also be helpful.

For enquiries about the scientific aims of the Priority Programme, please contact the Priority Programme coordinator:

Professor Dr. Jens Meiler, Universität Leipzig, Medizinische Fakultät, Institut für Wirkstoffentwicklung, Tel. +49 341 97-25730, jens.meiler@medizin.uni-leipzig.de(externer Link)

Questions on the DFG proposal process can be directed to:

Programme contact: Nico Strohmeyer, Tel. +49 228 885-3082, nico.strohmeyer@dfg.de(externer Link) 

Administrative contact: Dominic Mussett, Tel. +49 228 885-2622, dominic.mussett@dfg.de(externer Link)

Privacy Policy

We, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), take the protection of your personal data and its confidential treatment extremely seriously. Therefore, please refer to the DFG’s Privacy Policy(interner Link). If you intend to transmit personal data of third parties, please make sure to do so only if the necessary legitimation under data protection law exist. Before transmitting data of third parties to the DFG, please forward the DFG’s Data Protection Notice to the individuals affected (data subjects). If there is a legitimate interest not to inform individuals beforehand (e.g. for reasons of secrecy or in case of a nomination or candidate proposal), these individuals should be informed no later than at the time of publication.