NEXT.BIO 2025 - Programming innate immunity through AI
In October 2025, A16Z #SFTechWeek will once again take over San Francisco. We are organizing NEXT.BIO, a world-class week long tech conference featuring the best startups, industry leaders and investors in AI x BIO across a series of Tech Events, a unique Hackathon and a DEMO Day 🚀
This event is one of our Tech Event series part of the full-week conference.
🧩 Suggested Themes & Challenges:
Antibody Engineering
Design or analyze antibody structures using tools like iCn3D. This approach has been successfully implemented in previous hackathons, where students investigated commercially available anti-spike protein antibodies and assessed their effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 variants. Micro Nano Technology Education CenterImmune Cell Image Analysis
Develop AI models to identify and quantify immune cells in histopathological images. The LYSTO hackathon, for instance, challenged participants to assess lymphocyte counts in cancer tissue samples, achieving pathologist-level accuracy. arXivVaccine Design Simulation
Utilize epitope prediction tools to design vaccines targeting emerging pathogens. This mirrors real-world applications where computational methods are used to predict immune responses and design effective vaccines.Immune System Modeling
Create simulations of immune responses using agent-based or system dynamics models. Such simulations can help in understanding complex immune interactions and have been highlighted as valuable educational tools. arXivAutoimmune Disease Diagnostics
Develop algorithms to detect patterns in gene expression data associated with autoimmune diseases. This aligns with ongoing research efforts to understand and diagnose autoimmune conditions through computational analysis.
What is are the immunology available datasets?
🧬 Comprehensive Immunology Data Portals:
ImmPort (Immunology Database and Analysis Portal)
A flagship NIH-funded repository offering over 900 studies covering clinical trials, basic immunology, and systems biology. It includes tools for data analysis and supports reproducibility and data reuse. immport.orgImmuneSpace
Built on ImmPort data, ImmuneSpace provides curated, standardized datasets from the Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC), enabling comparative analysis across vaccine studies. NatureHuman Immune System Explorer (Allen Institute)
An open-access portal offering longitudinal multi-omics data from studies on immune health, COVID-19, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. It includes visualization tools like PALMO for exploring gene and protein activity. Allen Institute
🔬 Specialized Datasets for Targeted Research:
Immune Epitope Database (IEDB)
A comprehensive resource for antibody and T cell epitopes across various species, including humans. It supports vaccine design, allergy research, and autoimmunity studies, with integrated prediction tools. WikipediaImmunological Genome Project (ImmGen)
Focuses on mouse immune cells, providing gene expression profiles across different cell types and states. It's instrumental for studying immune cell differentiation and regulatory networks. immgen.orgDatabase of Immune Cell Epigenomes (DICE)
Offers insights into gene regulation within human immune cells, aiding in the understanding of gene expression control mechanisms. lji.org
📊 AI-Ready and Longitudinal Datasets:
HR-VILAGE-3K3M
An extensive dataset comprising over 14,000 RNA-seq profiles from 3,178 subjects across 66 studies. It includes data from vaccinations, inoculations, and natural infections, standardized for AI applications. arXiv
🧠 Additional Resources:
BioGPS: Offers a variety of immune-related gene expression datasets with interactive visualization tools. biogps.org
Roboflow Universe: Provides immune detection datasets suitable for training computer vision models in immunology. Roboflow
IUIS Immunology Databases: A collection of curated databases supporting immunogenetics research and standardization efforts.