Marta Filizola
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martafilizola.bsky.social
Marta Filizola
@martafilizola.bsky.social
Computational biophysicist specialized in GPCRs, beta3 integrins, and other membrane proteins. Professor and Dean at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
A fantastic collaboration with the Skiniotis lab! Using a massive ~1 ms aggregate MD dataset, we uncover how ligand efficacy is encoded not simply by static active/inactive states, but by the transition intermediates connecting them. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Transition Intermediates Encode Ligand Efficacy at the μ-Opioid Receptor-Gi Protein Complex
How ligands with different efficacies regulate G protein-coupled receptor signaling remains incompletely understood. Here, we combine Markov state modeling of nearly one millisecond of aggregate all-a...
www.biorxiv.org
September 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
We are inviting applications for a research scientist/postdoctoral associate position in the broad field of computational chemistry/biophysics/AI-driven drug discovery. Please DM your CV and 2 reference names
April 24, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Interested in AI applications for GPCR drug discovery? @kpmanstheorem.bsky.social, a talented trainee from the Filizola Lab has something to say. "Computer-aided structural modeling and drug discovery for G-protein-coupled receptors in the age of AI" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Computer-aided structural modeling and drug discovery for G-protein-coupled receptors in the age of artificial intelligence
G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of membrane proteins that mediate cellular responses to diverse stimuli and serve as targets fo…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 12, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Way to start the week, Sabina!
Pleasantly surprised this morning to wake up to both the first preprint of my postdoc and first preprint using my new name :)

We used a combination of experiment and simulation to tease out the mechanistic basis of specific recognition of FcγRIIa.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
March 9, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Ready for another poster from ⁦‪@filizolalab1‬⁩ at #BPS2026?
Stop by to meet Sabina (née Dylan) and learn about new molecular insights into antibody selectivity revealed by molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations.
February 23, 2026 at 4:44 PM
@filizolalab1 kicking off at #bps2026 with a poster presentation by Kirill, on a collaborative work with the Skiniotis and Robertson labs. Go listen to Kirill!
February 22, 2026 at 4:25 PM
After the most surreal peer review process we are out in the wild with BOLD-GPCRs: A Transformer-Powered App for Predicting Ligand Bioactivity and Mutational Effects across Class A GPCRs | Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
BOLD-GPCRs: A Transformer-Powered App for Predicting Ligand Bioactivity and Mutational Effects across Class A GPCRs
G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are important targets for drug discovery owing to their ability to respond to a broad range of stimuli and their involvement in numerous pathologies. Although traditional ligand-based and structure-based approaches have facilitated the development of effective therapeutics for many GPCRs, these approaches often fall short when applied to receptors with limited ligand or structural data. This limitation highlights the critical need for advanced strategies capable of accurately predicting ligand bioactivity across the entire GPCR family, especially for understudied receptor subtypes. In this study, we introduce BOLD-GPCRs (BERT-Optimized Ligand Discovery for GPCRs), a deep learning framework designed to enhance the prediction of ligand bioactivity across class A GPCRs. Accessible via a user-friendly web interface, BOLD-GPCRs employs transfer learning and leverages curated data sets of known class A GPCR ligands, receptor sequences, and signaling-relevant mutations. By integrating dense neural network classifiers with transformer-based protein language models, BOLD-GPCRs captures complex relationships between receptor sequence/function and ligand activity. Our results demonstrate that BOLD-GPCRs achieves robust predictive performance for both ligand bioactivity and mutational effects across a broad range of class A GPCRs, underscoring its potential as a valuable tool for ligand discovery, especially for poorly characterized receptors.
pubs.acs.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Kicking off the new year with a completely refreshed look for the Filizola Lab website. Happy 2026, everyone! www.filizolalab.org
Filizola Lab
www.filizolalab.org
January 1, 2026 at 5:42 AM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
OUT NOW! The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Dean's Report and message from Dean @martafilizola.bsky.social. Learn about the Graduate School at Mount Sinai's growth, innovation and achievement, and how they have excelled in 2025 👉 reports.mountsinai.org/article/grad...
October 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
It’s official: ChatGPT can't draw a GPCR, but you’ll master them in the Filizola Lab
😜 Join Us! (send your CV and the names of at least two references to my institutional email) #Postdoc #scientist #research
October 17, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Our new work with Daniel Wacker’s Lab: not only do structurally different PAMs of the mu #opioid receptor bind at different sites but their modulatory mechanisms also differ as assessed by molecular #dynamics and information theory validated by functional experiments
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Structural and dynamic studies uncover a distinct allosteric modulatory site at the mu-opioid receptor
Positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the μ opioid receptor (MOR) offer a promising path toward safer opioid therapeutics, yet their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Here, we uncover ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Join an ever-inquisitive community of scholars who make strategic and meaningful connections between science, medicine, education, and health care delivery. We look forward to welcoming new Master’s classes in Biomedical Sciences and Data Science and AI youtu.be/NPNm4KOfwco
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences – Master’s Programs
YouTube video by Icahn School of Medicine
youtu.be
June 25, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
It’s time to vote! If you give me your vote, I promise I will work hard and loud for you, the BPS community, and for science. Read my statement.

www.biophysics.org/elections/bp...
BPS Elections | Biophysical Society
www.biophysics.org
June 1, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
Twenty case studies showing theoretical predictions in chemistry that were later confirmed experimentally. #CompChem 🧪

doi.org/10.1515/pac-...
When theory came first: a review of theoretical chemical predictions ahead of experiments
For decades, computational theoretical chemistry has provided critical insights into molecular behavior, often anticipating experimental discoveries. This review surveys twenty notable examples from t...
doi.org
May 31, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
The US will not only suffer a brain drain… but will also lose its background brain gain from the rest of the world.

econ.trib.al/3hYAuUZ
May 28, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
25 years ago, I came to Stanford on a J1 visa and worked so hard to be worthy of that privilege. Today, I lead Immunology at Mount Sinai and I am the one who feel privileged when brilliant international trainees chose to join us.
“America First” Will Destroy U.S. Science
The U.S. government has sought to restrict immigration under the “America First” doctrine. These policies severely harm American science by stripping it of talent and eliminating a major driver of its...
www.cell.com
May 26, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
New Notice on No Cost Extensions (or lack thereof)

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-110: Updated NIH Processes for No-Cost Extensions
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Updated NIH Processes for No-Cost Extensions NOT-OD-25-110. NIH
grants.nih.gov
May 7, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
New insights from our group into how frogs resist toxic environments published today! 🎉🐸
Congratulations to Sandra, Samantha @samnscience.bsky.social, Zhou, and our collaborators Tod Leighfield, Filizola lab @martafilizola.bsky.social, and Du Bois lab at Stanford.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structural basis for saxitoxin congener binding and neutralization by anuran saxiphilins
Nature Communications - Dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria produce saxitoxin (STX) congeners that block voltage-gated sodium channels. Here authors show how amphibians may sequester STX congeners...
www.nature.com
April 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.”
A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN
Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...
www.cnn.com
April 9, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
"It’s kind of a textbook case of arbitrary and capricious.” A lawsuit alleges that NIH didn't follow proper procedure and was unconstitutionally vague when abruptly terminating >600 grants. My story @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
Lawsuit aims to overturn many NIH grant terminations
Multiple groups and NIH-funded scientists challenge agency’s decision as arbitrary and capricious
www.science.org
April 2, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Marta Filizola
Why AI won’t replace scientists capable of making disruptive conceptual breakthroughs - they pose questions that challenge, rather than align with, the training data set

thomwolf.io/blog/scienti...
🔭 The Einstein AI model
I shared a controversial take the other day at an event and I decided to write it down in a longer format: I’m afraid AI won't give us a compressed 21st century.
thomwolf.io
March 22, 2025 at 4:06 PM