AI system
- System
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ChatGPT (OpenAI) and AlphaFold (Google DeepMind), with Grok (xAI) reported for the final mRNA construct, used with Conyngham's own analysis to select tumor neoantigen targets for a personalized mRNA vaccine
- Model
-
Not assessed
- Release
-
Not assessed
- Application developer
-
OpenAI (ChatGPT); 
Google 
DeepMind (AlphaFold); 
xAI (Grok) - Role
-
Not assessed
- Configuration
-
Not assessed
- Inputs and outputs
-
Not assessed
- Autonomy
-
Not assessed
- Workflow
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Whole-genome sequencing of tumor and healthy tissue, about 150 billion DNA letters for $3,000, from which neoantigen targets could be chosen with AI help. An academic RNA facility, the UNSW RNA Institute, willing to make a custom mRNA vaccine from an owner-designed sequence in under two months. A veterinary school with ethics cover and an immunotherapy specialist to administer it, after about three months of ethics paperwork. An owner with 17 years of machine-learning experience able to run the process, pay for it and drive ten hours for each dose.
- Human oversight
-
Researchers sequenced the tumor and manufactured the vaccine. A veterinarian administered the treatment.
- Relation to AI
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The AI tools worked at the design stage. ChatGPT suggested immunotherapy, pointed Conyngham to UNSW's genomics center and helped him plan the analysis. AlphaFold modeled mutated proteins. He says he “confirmed, again using AI, that those targets were good cancer candidates”. Humans sequenced the genome (Martin Smith), made the mRNA and nanoparticles (Pall Thordarson) and injected it (Rachel Allavena). A checkpoint inhibitor was given at the same time. UNSW says “We don't know how much of the response came from the checkpoint inhibitor and how much from the mRNA vaccine”. The AI's share of the outcome therefore cannot be isolated. It is a single uncontrolled case, and no outcome data have been published outside interviews and statements.
- AI contribution
-
Conyngham used ChatGPT to plan the investigation and AlphaFold to model mutated proteins when selecting targets for a personalized cancer vaccine for his dog. Grok was also reported as assisting with the final mRNA construct.
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
-
Not assessed
- Benefit
-
halved Rosie's largest tumor by early 2026
- Category
-
Improved Physical Health
- Status
-
Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
-
People. Organizations.
- Beneficiaries
-
Not assessed
- Reach
-
Not assessed
- Distribution and access
-
Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
-
Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
-
Not assessed
- Study design
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Not assessed
- Measurement
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Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
-
halved Rosie's largest tumor by early 2026
- Comparison
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Assumed alternative: veterinary chemotherapy and surgery given before the vaccine
- Results
-
Assumed comparison. Reference: slowed but failed to shrink the tumours. Result: the tennis ball-sized tumour on Rosie’s hock has shrunk in half.
- Additional value from AI
-
Not assessed
- Limitations
-
The dog received a checkpoint inhibitor alongside the vaccine. UNSW said that the contribution of each treatment was unknown. The uncontrolled account does not isolate AI’s contribution, and the reported results come from interviews and statements.
- Denominators
-
Not assessed
- Materials for replication
-
Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
-
Not assessed
- Amount
-
Not assessed
- Currency and prices
-
Not assessed
- Period and unit
-
Not assessed
- Realization
-
Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
-
Not assessed
- Gross or net
-
Not assessed
- Included costs
-
Not assessed
- Comparison
-
Not assessed
- Method
-
Not assessed
- Return and payback
-
Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
-
Developer:
OpenAI (ChatGPT); Google DeepMind (AlphaFold); xAI (Grok). Operator: Paul Conyngham (owner), with UNSW's Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics (sequencing), the UNSW RNA Institute (vaccine manufacture) and the University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science, Gatton (administration). - Jurisdictions
-
Benefit: Sydney,
Australia. Developer: 
United States. - Ownership and control
-
Not assessed
- Dependencies
-
Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
-
Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
-
Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
-
The response cannot be credited to the vaccine alone. A checkpoint inhibitor was given at the same time, and UNSW says the split is unknown. One uncontrolled animal. Mast cell tumors behave unpredictably, and some of Rosie's tumors did not respond. The benefit was time, not cure. The cancer returned after a later surgery, and the company founded on the case wrote in August 2026 that her story may have ended.
- Replication attempts
-
Not assessed
- Later findings
-
17 August 2026. The GAMGEE launch release of 17 August 2026 says Rosie's cancer returned after a later surgery and writes of her in the past tense.
- Availability
-
Not assessed
- Institutional decision
-
Not assessed
- Grounds
-
Not assessed
- Action and result
-
Not assessed
- Success criterion
-
Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
-
AIBD-0158-source-0001–0011
- Citations
-
Numbered references below.
- Language
-
Not assessed
- Source relationships
-
Operator, Independent
- Original evidence
-
Not assessed
- Access and versions
-
Not assessed
- Supported findings
-
Not assessed
- Evidence links
-
Not assessed
- Evidence strength
-
Not assessed
- Missing evidence
-
Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
-
People. Organizations.
- Depth
-
People: 2. Organizations: 1.
- Reasons
-
People: Rosie was given months to live after surgery and chemotherapy. Her largest tumor halved and she regained mobility by late January 2026. Per ABC on 22 June 2026, she was still running and playing. The response was partial and confounded by a checkpoint inhibitor, and her cancer later returned. Organizations: UNSW's RNA Institute and Ramaciotti Center got what Thordarson called the first personalized cancer vaccine designed for a dog. They describe the case as a milestone. Conyngham's spin-out GAMGEE raised a $4 million seed round in August 2026 on the strength of it.
- Observed or intended
-
Not assessed
- Rubric
-
Not assessed
- Assessor and date
-
Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
-
Not assessed
- Fill
-
Independently reported
Entry details
- Kind
-
Not assessed
- Related entries
-
Not assessed
- Field
-
Veterinary oncology / personalized mRNA vaccine design. Companion animal with mast cell cancer.
- Purpose
-
ChatGPT is a general-purpose assistant and AlphaFold a protein-structure predictor. Conyngham used the first to plan and navigate the veterinary and genomic work. He used the second to model mutated proteins as candidate targets. Both are uses within what each tool was built to do. Neither was built to treat Rosie. The vaccine was designed by Conyngham, made by UNSW and given by a veterinary school. The therapeutic response is a downstream use of the tools rather than their product purpose.
- Dates
-
Date basis unassessed: 2026 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
- Stage
-
Not assessed
- Version
-
SHA-256: 1a21cd2cdf56…
References
- Other identifiers
-
oecd_aim: 2026-03-15-f424.
- Category mappings
-
Not assessed
- Brief
-
Not assessed
- Revisions
-
5 revisions. Latest: 21 October 2026.
Sources
-
News report Independent author
Ma, J. / Fortune (2026). A tech entrepreneur used AI to help create the first-ever bespoke cancer vaccine for a dog. Fortune, 15 March 2026.
Rosie got her first injection of the cancer treatment this past December, then received a booster in February.
-
News report Independent author
Bita, N. / The Australian, republished by Stockhead (2026). Tech boss uses AI and ChatGPT to create cancer vaccine for his dying dog. Stockhead, 18 March 2026.
Mr Conyngham drove 10 hours with Rosie for her first injection in December, followed by a booster shot last month and another due next week.
-
News report Independent author
Roberts, R. / The Scientist (2026). ChatGPT and AlphaFold Help Design Personalized Vaccine for Dog with Cancer. The Scientist, online 16 March 2026, June 2026 issue.
it is difficult to disentangle which of the treatments had the greatest effect.
-
News report Independent author
AFP via Phys.org (2026). One man, his dog, and ChatGPT: Australia's AI vaccine saga. Phys.org, 30 March 2026.
This was not a clinical trial by any means
-
News report Independent author
Kim, S. / Newsweek (2026). Owner With No Medical Background Invents Cure for Dog's Terminal Cancer. Newsweek, 16 March 2026.
And, toward the end of January, she was jumping over a fence to chase a rabbit.
-
News report Independent author
Bailey, R. / Reason (2026). Man Successfully Designs mRNA Vaccine To Treat His Dog's Cancer. Reason, 19 March 2026.
If we can do this for a dog, why aren't we rolling this out to all humans with cancer?
-
News report Independent author
Davis, M. / ABC News (2026). AI designs cancer vaccine for dog but scientists says red tape a barrier for human care. ABC News, 22 June 2026.
AI did not cure Rosie's cancer, nor did it create or administer the vaccine
-
News report Independent author
Palmer, A. / Medical Daily (2026). Rosie's Cancer Came Back After Her AI-Designed Vaccine, and Her Owner Just Raised $4 Million. Medical Daily, 18 August 2026.
Rosie entered remission, but her cancer returned following a later surgery.
-
Press release Deployer
Melville, T. / UNSW Sydney (2026). Meet the man who designed a cancer vaccine for his dog. UNSW Newsroom, 17 March 2026.
We don't know how much of the response came from the checkpoint inhibitor and how much from the mRNA vaccine.
-
Press release Deployer
GAMGEE via GlobeNewswire (2026). One Dog's Legacy Becomes GAMGEE. GlobeNewswire press release, Sydney, 17 August 2026, as carried by Yahoo Finance.
While her story may have ended, her legacy lives on in the work that followed.
-
Other Independent author
Stebbing, J. / The Conversation (2026). A man used AI to help make a cancer vaccine for his dog – an oncologist urges caution. The Conversation, 20 March 2026 (academic commentary).
several tumours shrank markedly, her overall tumour burden fell, and her energy and behaviour improved