Avner Schlessinger
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schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Avner Schlessinger
@schlessingerlab.bsky.social
510 followers 990 following 6 posts
Computational biologist. Professor. Co-Director of Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics Training Area
https://www.schlessingerlab.org/
@IcahnMountSinai. Opinions are mine. #DrugDesign #AI
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schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Avner Schlessinger @schlessingerlab.bsky.social · Oct 14
Check out this great @cenmag.bsky.social piece by @aayushipratap.bsky.social on how AI is transforming drug discovery.

Our work at Mt. Sinai’s AI Small Molecule Drug Discovery Center is featured among others driving this fast-moving field.

🔗 tinyurl.com/sabpvrtp

#AI #DrugDiscovery
How AI is taking over every step of drug discovery
Academic scientists and pharmaceutical companies alike are embracing artificial intelligence, even as questions linger about its value
cen.acs.org
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Very comprehensive work on the modulation of mu opioid receptor
October 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Check out this great @cenmag.bsky.social piece by @aayushipratap.bsky.social on how AI is transforming drug discovery.

Our work at Mt. Sinai’s AI Small Molecule Drug Discovery Center is featured among others driving this fast-moving field.

🔗 tinyurl.com/sabpvrtp

#AI #DrugDiscovery
How AI is taking over every step of drug discovery
Academic scientists and pharmaceutical companies alike are embracing artificial intelligence, even as questions linger about its value
cen.acs.org
October 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Interesting read: Structural insights into brain thyroid hormone transport via MCT8 and OATP1C1 www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Structural insights into brain thyroid hormone transport via MCT8 and OATP1C1
Structures of the solute carrier transporters MCT8 and OATP1C1 reveal mechanisms of thyroid hormone transport into the brain and identify a conserved extracellular allosteric site in OATP1C1.
www.cell.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
faylinphd.bsky.social
David Baker's Nobel Prize-winning lab has now designed binders to "undruggable" disordered proteins, unlocking therapeutic access to over 50% of the human proteome!

‪@uwproteindesign.bsky.social‬

Read more at GEN:
tinyurl.com/4fw6wvkm
Undruggable No More: AI Hits Disordered Proteins, Unlocks Therapy Targets
David Baker’s lab has successfully designed binders to disordered proteins, expanding therapeutic access to over 50% of the human proteome.
tinyurl.com
July 18, 2025 at 7:07 PM
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Excited to see our new AI Small Molecule Drug Discovery Center #MountSinai featured in GEN!
🧬🧠 Read more: genengnews.com/topics/artif... Thank you @faylinphd.bsky.social
#AI #DrugDiscovery #Genetics
Democratizing Artificial Intelligence in Pre-Clinical Drug Discovery
While AI-driven approaches tout increased speed and lower costs, commercial interests compromise scientific collaboration.
genengnews.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
mitocarriers.bsky.social
Proposed pH-dependent mechanism of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. In the outward-open state, positively charged K49 and H86 bind pyruvate, initiating conformational changes to the inward-open state. The high matrix pH deprotonates H86, allowing pyruvate to leave.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
April 18, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
azadeh-shahsavar.bsky.social
We are excited to present the first #cryoEM structures of human GABA transporter 3 – GAT3 – bound to an in-house selective inhibitor, SR-THAP, to substrate GABA, and in the substrate-free state!
@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Structural basis for selective inhibition of human GABA transporter GAT3
The astrocytic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter, GAT3, is essential for terminating GABAergic signalling in the central nervous system. Selective inhibition of GAT3 offers a potential strategy f...
www.biorxiv.org
March 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
martafilizola.bsky.social
Are you aiming for leadership roles in pharmaceutical, biotech, high tech, or medical device companies? Consider applying to the revamped MSBS program @GradSchoolSinai @IcahnMountSinai, featuring 1 or 2-year tracks and non-thesis options tailored for industry professionals
March 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Safeguarding the future of biomedical science in the United States: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Safeguarding the future of biomedical science in the United States
NIH’s abrupt decision to cap indirect cost reimbursement at 15% threatens the critical infrastructure supporting groundbreaking biomedical research in the United States. This policy jeopardizes Americ...
www.cell.com
March 21, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
martafilizola.bsky.social
At @GradSchoolSinai @IcahnMountSinai, we are excited to train the next generation of #datascience and #AI #professionals for #PrecisionMedicine @MountSinaiNYC
and beyond. Apply here: icahn.mssm.edu/education/ad...
March 19, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
delalamo.xyz
Changes in the equilibrium dynamics of kinases can be observed as mutations and ligands are introduced. Authors describe & apply a workflow that combines AF2+MSA subsampling, molecular dynamics simulations, and an autoencoder for dimensionality reduction
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Overview of the computational framework employed in this study to capture generalizable dynamics in kinases and how perturbations such as ligand binding/mutations modulate conformational dynamics. The framework requires a protein sequence as input and uses the MSA subsampling approach to generate initial structural guesses (AF ensemble) using AlphaFold. These structures were then used t seed to launch independent MD simulations and finally combined together using the Markov state model (MSM) to capture conformational dynamics in kinases. In some cases, this standard workflow may not fully capture the breadth of conformational heterogeneity. To address such scenarios, we used an adaptiv sampling framework which starts with launching short MD simulations (10 ns) from an AF generated conformational ensemble. The high-dimensional data from these simulations are used to train a time-lagged autoencoder (TAE), which identifies slowly varying structural features. Clustering in the TAE’ latent space yields a “physics-refined” ensemble, and representative cluster centers are selected as starting points for further MD simulations. This expanded ensemble is then integrated into the MSM, providing a more comprehensive view of kinase conformational heterogeneity in both apo and holo states. Capturing these kinase dynamics facilitates the study of conformational allostery and reveals druggable cryptic pockets in protein–protein complexes, potentially accelerating the development of targeted therapies.
March 16, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
nmrkaygee.bsky.social
Another outstanding story of the real-world impact of the short-sighted cuts to NIH and other federal support for the best scientific research infrastructure in the world.

www.wsj.com/articles/bio...
Bioscience Funding Confusion Threatens U.S. Innovation
‘With the current turmoil, China could surpass the U.S. in the near future,’ Nobel Prize winner David Baker warns.
www.wsj.com
March 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
ebi.embl.org
🚀 #AlphaFold Database update

AlphaFold DB now integrates The Encyclopedia of Domains (TED) – a resource designed to systematically identify & classify structural domains within AlphaFold-predicted protein structures.

www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/u...

@pdbeurope.bsky.social
March 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
erictopol.bsky.social
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
March 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
danengw.bsky.social
This is a fantastic meeting for the Cryo-EM community in the NYC area. This year it will take place on the East Coast of Manhattan. Please come and join us!
olibclarke.bsky.social Oli Clarke @olibclarke.bsky.social · Feb 12
Registration is now open for the 2025 NYC CryoEM meeting, organized by Bill Rice (NYU) & @fravallese.bsky.social (CUNY/ASRC)

Always a great meeting with lots of new #cryoem work by rising stars in/around NYC

Max 140 people so register now (it’s free)!
Fifth New York Area Cryo-EM Meeting | NYU Langone Health
Join the 2025 Cryo-EM & Cryo-ET Meeting at NYU Langone! Share unpublished work, discuss breakthroughs, and tackle challenges. June 25. Register now!
med.nyu.edu
February 12, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
shaunmahony.bsky.social
This is an excellent article that accurately describes the situation with NIH funding. Great work @zey.bsky.social !

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/o...
Opinion | The Pharmaceutical Industry Heads Into Elon Musk’s Wood Chipper (Gift Article)
Who needs N.I.H. grants? A lot of red-state universities, for one.
www.nytimes.com
February 11, 2025 at 12:30 PM
schlessingerlab.bsky.social
Good morning snowy NYC
February 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
krhornberger.bsky.social
If you work in drug discovery and you read one thing this weekend, make it this exceptional J Med Chem editorial. Hits on almost every blessed thing I’ve tweetorialized over the last several years.

Quantitation and Error Measurements in Dose–Response Curves
Quantitation and Error Measurements in Dose–Response Curves
pubs.acs.org
January 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Avner Schlessinger
smritimallapaty.bsky.social
Want to become a professor? A huge analysis looks at how criteria assessing researchers for promotion vary widely around the world, and finds some surprises 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Want to become a professor? Here’s how hiring criteria differ by country
Huge analysis identifies regional variations in the criteria that institutions use to move researchers up the ranks.
www.nature.com
January 23, 2025 at 1:12 AM