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Australian Tech Founder Uses ChatGPT and AlphaFold to Help Build Bespoke mRNA Cancer Vaccine for His Dog

Experts call the response preliminary because it comes from a single uncontrolled case.

Overview

  • Paul Conyngham commissioned sequencing of Rosie’s tumor and healthy DNA for about A$3,000 at UNSW’s Ramaciotti Centre, then used ChatGPT to plan the work and AlphaFold to analyze mutated proteins.
  • After a potential immunotherapy drug could not be obtained, UNSW’s RNA Institute, led by Professor Páll Thordarson, manufactured a custom mRNA vaccine from Conyngham’s AI-derived sequence in under two months.
  • Rosie received the first shot in December 2025 with subsequent boosters; researchers and the owner report that most tumors shrank and her energy and mobility improved, though one lesion did not respond.
  • Veterinary oversight and ethics approval were required, with Conyngham spending months preparing documentation before the University of Queensland administered the experimental injection.
  • Researchers involved described it as the first personalized cancer vaccine designed for a dog, and say controlled studies and regulatory pathways are needed before broader conclusions or human applications.