Proof of Concept Grant for NUCLEATE member Olivia Merkel

Her new project ALINA – Active-Learning Inference for Nucleic Acid Delivery - builds on insights from her ERC Consolidator Grant project. Through the PoC program, which awards grants of around 150,000 euros, the European Research Council helps researchers translate their research findings into practice.
ALINA tests a new conceptual approach for an integrated platform combining machine learning and molecular dynamics. The goal is to accelerate the design and optimization of formulations for RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles such that significantly fewer experiments will be required. Ultimately, the team will create an industry-relevant version of the ALINA platform that can demonstrate, based on quantitative reference values, that it works faster and with higher predictive accuracy than existing methods.