CAFA 6 Protein Function Prediction

Overview

This competition challenges you to predict the biological function of proteins based on their amino acid sequences. Your models will help researchers understand protein functions, which could lead to new medical treatments. You'll be predicting Gene Ontology (GO) terms, which describe what a protein does, its biological processes, and where it operates in the cell. This is a complex task as proteins often have multiple roles.

Requirements

This is an online competition open to anyone. You can participate as an individual or as part of a team. The main task is to train a model to predict Gene Ontology (GO) terms for proteins using their amino acid sequences. You will submit predictions for Molecular Function (MF), Biological Process (BP), and Cellular Component (CC) subontologies. The submission file should list pairs of protein targets and GO terms with a probabilistic estimate. You can also optionally submit free text descriptions of protein functions. All deadlines are at 11:59 PM UTC.

Prizes

There are significant cash prizes for the top performers. First place wins $15,000, second place receives $10,000, and third place gets $8,000. Fourth place wins $7,000, and both fifth and sixth place winners will receive $5,000 each. Additionally, participants can earn awards, points, and medals.