Preface: This is a reflection on Professor Zhou’s inspiring lecture about “Unraveling the Mysteries of Drug Discovery Through AI-Driven Protein Structure Prediction” during science week.
The familiar “Blue Piano Piece” echoed through the hallway. Following the hurried crowd, I left the classroom, but instead of rushing back to the dormitory, I joined another stream of people: we were all heading towards the Halo Theatre, a group of curious souls.
After thunderous applause, Professor Zhou began this extraordinary lecture with his self-introduction. Alongside his impressive resume, he listed a similarly lengthy “CV of failures” – humorous, honest, and unconventional. In hindsight, perhaps Professor Zhou’s research style and spirit were evident from the very beginning. This opening quickly eased the slightly serious atmosphere in the theater.
Professor Zhou took the students on a journey back in time, starting with the 1978 national entrance examination, recounting the unknown difficulties and setbacks behind each of his highlights. Before the lecture officially began, Professor Zhou used his own example to convey an important spirit of scientific research to the students: failure is not to be feared.
The lecture then officially began. The keywords of this lecture were “AI-driven protein prediction” and “drug discovery.” Unlike the obscure signals these two keywords might convey, Professor Zhou’s explanation was clear and, to some extent, shockingly simple. Starting from the most basic question, “What is a protein?”, he gradually guided us to the application of AI in the field of biomedicine, then particularly how AI technology can be used to predict protein structures.
He likened proteins to words and amino acids to letters, saying that “just as 26 letters can create countless words, 20 types of amino acids can construct an infinite variety of proteins”. As he suggested, traditional protein structure prediction methods require a large amount of experimental data or known protein structures, which are time-consuming and costly.
The introduction of ideal AI technology, therefore, not only greatly improves the speed and accuracy of predictions but also provides new ideas and methods for drug development. However, Professor Zhou mentioned that the evolution and iteration of AI technology itself is also the result of long-term research, supported by generations of “human intelligence”.
After the scientific content, Professor Zhou posed another important question: in the face of AI’s computing power, what is left for humans to do? The answer, although simple, was profound: keep thinking, keep questioning, keep practicing. AI is an incredibly powerful tool, but we are the ones who wield it. Our active and critical thinking is the future Professor Zhou hopes for.
Beyond the lecture, Professor Zhou and his team “Shenzhen Bay Laboratory” provided a wealth of microscopic images for display. Under high-precision instruments, various cells and tissues appeared dreamy and magnificent, as if we were appreciating Van Gough’s masterpiece the Starry Sky.
The tiny moments of life activities were captured — it was the splitting nucleus; it was the birthing of new ideas. The grandeur of the microscopic and macroscopic worlds coincided, perhaps this is the power of life, perhaps, this is the power of scientific research.
Sincere thanks on behalf of all the audience and science lovers to:
1. Principal Mr. Neil Mobsby, for his unwavering support.
2. Mr. Richard Driscoll, ADP, Mr. Jeff Kearns, AAP, and Mr. Ian Wesson, Head of Faculty – Science, for their presence and encouragement.
3. Ms. Apurva Sarkar, Teacher of Physics, for organizing this insightful lecture.
- Article / Cecilia Hu
