Active learning framework leveraging transcriptomics identifies modulators of disease phenotypes.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
Authors
Abstract

Phenotypic drug screening remains constrained by the vastness of chemical space and technical challenges scaling experimental workflows. To overcome these barriers, computational methods have been developed to prioritize compounds, but they rely on either single-task models lacking generalizability or heuristic-based genomic proxies that resist optimization. We designed an active deep-learning framework that leverages omics to enable scalable, optimizable identification of compounds that induce complex phenotypes. Our generalizable algorithm outperformed state-of-the-art models on classical recall, translating to a 13-17x increase in phenotypic hit-rate across two hematological discovery campaigns. Combining this algorithm with a lab-in-the-loop signature refinement step, we achieved an additional two-fold increase in hit-rate and molecular insights. In sum, our framework enables efficient phenotypic hit identification campaigns, with broad potential to accelerate drug discovery.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Pages
eadi8577
Date Published
10/2025
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.adi8577
PubMed ID
41129612
Links