Innovation by Gao Caixia's Team Selected as One of the 'Top Ten Advances in Bioinformatics in China' for 2025

On March 23, 2026, Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics (GPB) announced the results of the 'Top Ten Advances in Bioinformatics in China' for 2025. An innovation by Caixia Gao's team from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was among those selected.

The "Top Ten Advances in Bioinformatics in China" selection aims to promote the disciplinary development and innovative research of bioinformatics in China, and to fully showcase and publicize major research achievements in the field of bioinformatics in the country. The selection process involved recommendations by over 100 domestic and international experts in bioinformatics, followed by preliminary and secondary rounds of voting, as well as a review and verification procedure. Ultimately, ten representative achievements demonstrating original breakthroughs, significant scientific value, or notable application prospects were selected from numerous candidate projects nationwide.

Protein engineering leverages the natural flexibility of proteins to modify their structure and function by altering amino acid sequences, though traditional approaches typically yield low success rates with limited returns.  Our team developed AiCE (AI-informed Constraints for protein Engineering), a new AI-powered computational approach based on universal inverse folding models incorporating both structural and evolutionary constraints. Using AiCE to optimize a range of gene-editing tools through directed evolution, the team rapidly enhanced both editing efficiency and accuracy, leading to the creation of highly efficient and precise new base editors that push the frontiers of precision genome editing and protein engineering. The GPB selection committee highlighted that AiCE can perform efficient protein evolution simulation and functional design without requiring a purpose-built AI model.

Graphical abstract of AiCE