This first large-scale experiment to assess protein structure prediction methods was held in 1994. It consisted of three parts: the collection of targets for prediction from the experimental community, the collection of predictions from the modeling community, and the assessment and discussion of the results. Information was solicited from X-ray crystallographers and NMR spectroscopists on structures about to be solved. In all 33 protein prediction targets were obtained in three prediction categories: comparative modeling, fold recognition or threading, and ab initio folding. Extensive efforts have been made to publicize the experiment. In all 35 prediction groups took part submitting over 100 predictions.

Assessment of the results was done by three independent teams, one for each category. The teams were led by Michael James, University of Alberta, for comparative modeling; Shoshana Wodak, Free University of Brussels, for fold recognition; and Fred Cohen, University of California at San Francisco, for ab initio predictions. The first CASP meeting was held at the Asilomar conference center in California in December of 1994. A special issue of PROTEINS: Structure, Function, and Genetics (Volume 23, Number 3, 1995) has been dedicated to the assessment of the prediction experiment.

CASP1 organizing team has been led by John Moult, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and included Jan Pedersen, UMBI, Richard Judson, Sandia National Laboratories, and Krzysztof Fidelis, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Funding was provided by LLNL, Sandia, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of Health and Environmental Research.