Recep Adiyaman
Computational Structural Biologist · PhD

Recep Adiyaman Beyond Static Structure.

Building production-grade protein structure prediction pipelines that outperform AlphaFold3. CASP top-ranked · 470+ citations · 30,000+ active users — currently accelerating cancer vaccine design at InstaDeep/BioNTech.

Python · PyTorch · HPC AlphaFold2/3 · MD Engines MLOps · Cloud Pipelines
Open to senior roles in AI drug discovery & structural biology

Current roles

Impact-driven

2023 – Present

Current
Collaborative Researcher (Part-Time)
InstaDeep (BioNTech Group) • London, UK

Designed and developed a protein structure prediction pipeline for structural immunology, integrating TCR-pMHC modelling using AlphaFold2, Boltz-2, and Chai-1 to support BioNTech's personalised cancer vaccine programme.

Sep 2020 – Present

Research
Research Fellow
McGuffin Lab, University of Reading • Reading, UK

Co-led the development and maintenance of IntFOLD integrated server for 3D protein model prediction, serving 30,000+ users and 400,000+ jobs every year.

IntFOLD & FunFOLD optimisation Structural immunology pipelines Benchmarking vs. AlphaFold
Focus areas

Dynamic Ensembles

Capturing conformational diversity beyond static snapshots.

De Novo Design

Modelling novel folds where evolutionary history is silent.

Tooling
AlphaFold & ReFOLD MD engines ML & MLOps Cloud pipelines

Blending physics-based methods with modern ML to de-risk translational biology projects.

About

Translating protein science into deployable tools

Physics & Bioengineering background
30k+
Active Server Users
470+
Citations · H-index 9
14
Peer-reviewed Papers
9+ yrs
Research Experience

Computational structural biologist with 9+ years of research experience in protein structure prediction, molecular dynamics simulation, and AI/ML-driven drug design. Developer of multiple internationally benchmarked tools (IntFOLD, ReFOLD, FunFOLD, MultiFOLD, ModFOLDdock2Q) that consistently rank among the top methods at CASP blind prediction experiments. Published 14 peer-reviewed papers (H-index 9, 470+ citations) in journals including Nucleic Acids Research, Blood, and Bioinformatics Advances. Currently combining deep learning structure predictors (AlphaFold2/3, Boltz-2, Chai-1) with physics-based methods for cancer vaccine design in collaboration with InstaDeep/BioNTech. Experienced in Python, PyTorch, HPC/SLURM environments, and end-to-end bioinformatics pipeline development.

How I work

Iterative refinement

Blend physics-based models with ML to close the loop from prediction to validation.

Operational pipelines

Ship pipelines teams can run, monitor, and extend across structure prediction, docking, and MD.

Collaboration-first

Work closely with domain experts so the science stays rigorous while tooling stays approachable.

Recent highlights
ReFOLD3: top-5 CASP13; best server at CASP14 (NAR Web Server 2021) ReFOLD4: lifted models beyond AlphaFold2 with QA-guided MD recycling FunFOLD5: 2nd place CASP16 ligand-pose ranking; surpasses AlphaFold3 server MultiFOLD3: outperformed AlphaFold3 in quaternary structure prediction (CAMEO) ModFOLDdock2Q: 16,000+ engineered features for protein binder quality assessment IntFOLD server: 30,000+ users & 400,000+ jobs/year serving the research community OpenStructure contributor: --min-pep-length parameter for peptide QA accuracy InstaDeep/BioNTech: TCR-pMHC pipeline for personalised cancer vaccine programme
Talks & Presentations
  • ReFOLD4 for the refinement of AlphaFold2 predictions — ISMB 2023, 3D-SIG (Oral)
  • MD-Based Refinement of Protein Models with Local Quality Assessment — University of Reading Symposium (Oral)
  • Design of metal ion-binding small peptides — 1st National Biosensor Congress, Turkey (Oral)
  • ReFOLD2/3 refinement posters — CASP13/14/16, ISMB 2021, 3D-SIG
Experience

Work Experience

Industry & Academia

Collaborative Researcher (Part-Time)

2023 – Present
InstaDeep (BioNTech Group) London, UK
  • Designed and developed a protein structure prediction pipeline for structural immunology, integrating TCR-pMHC modelling using AlphaFold2, Boltz-2, and Chai-1 to support BioNTech's personalised cancer vaccine programme.
  • Contributed the --min-pep-length parameter to the OpenStructure framework, improving peptide quality assessment accuracy.
  • Engineered a hybrid scoring system combining physics-based energy terms (FoldX, Rosetta) with ML-based features (DockQ, QS, PatchDockQ, PatchQS, ilDDT, aa-local-lddt, ics scores) for candidate ranking and selection.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams spanning computational biology, experimental immunology, and vaccine development.
TCR-pMHC Cancer Vaccines InstaDeep/BioNTech

Research Fellow

Sep 2020 – Present BBSRC-funded
McGuffin Lab, University of Reading Reading, UK
  • Co-led the development and maintenance of IntFOLD integrated server for 3D protein model prediction, serving 30,000+ users and 400,000+ jobs every year.
  • Built ModFOLDdock2Q, a model quality assessment method utilising over 16,000 engineered features, achieving significant performance for identification of better protein binders.
  • Led ReFOLD4 development — MD-based refinement protocol that improves 3D predictions beyond AlphaFold2 accuracy by integrating local quality estimation with MD simulations (Bioinformatics Advances, 2023).
  • Led FunFOLD5 development for CASP16, achieving 2nd place in protein-ligand pose ranking and surpassing AlphaFold3 server method in protein-ligand interaction prediction.
  • Contributed to MultiFOLD3, which outperformed AlphaFold3 in quaternary structure prediction by integrating Boltz-2, Chai-1, Protenix and geometric-based rescoring in CAMEO.
  • ReFOLD3 ranked top-5 in CASP13 for difficult refinement targets; became top-performing refinement server at CASP14 (NAR Web Server Issue, 2021).
  • Published 10+ papers across Nucleic Acids Research, Bioinformatics Advances, Proteins, and Haematologica.
IntFOLD Server CASP16 Results MultiFOLD3

Teaching Assistant

2017 – 2020
University of Reading Reading, UK
  • Delivered practical demonstrations for undergraduate bioinformatics and programming modules.
  • Supported student learning in Python scripting, sequence analysis (BLAST, HHpred), and structural biology concepts (PyMOL, ChimeraX).
Python Bioinformatics Teaching

PhD Researcher

2017 – 2021
University of Reading Reading, UK
  • Developed ReFOLD2 (top-10 CASP13) and ReFOLD3 (top-5 CASP13, best server CASP14) using MD restraint strategies to lift predicted structures toward native.
  • Extended refinement methods to protein-ligand binding site prediction; published 4 first-author papers.
ReFOLD2/3 CASP13/14 PhD Research
The Philosophy

Research Vision

"Proteins are not statues. They are breathing, moving molecular machines. I am building tools to capture the dynamic ensembles that drive biology."

Beyond Static Assumptions

Conventional AI treats proteins as rigid shapes. My protocols integrate Molecular Dynamics to reveal how evolutionarily silent targets truly behave.

Precision Refinement

Using Local Quality Estimation, we lock certain regions while allowing binding sites to breathe, uncovering cryptic pockets for drug discovery.

Core Mission

"We are moving from predicting a single static snapshot to simulating the full movie of life. This shift is critical for engineering better enzymes and designing smarter drugs for traditionally undruggable targets."

Read Full Research Manifesto
Open Source & Tools

Scientific Software

Next-generation tools for structure prediction, refinement, and quality assessment.

ReFOLD3

Refinement of 3D protein models using molecular dynamics simulations and quality assessment.

Deployed on Web Server

ModFOLDdock2Q

Quality assessment of protein-protein complex models using deep learning and structural features.

Deployed on Docker & GitHub

FunFOLD5

Template-based ligand binding site prediction using structural alignment and quality assessment.

Deployed on Docker & GitHub

IntFOLD

Integrated web resource for high-performance protein structure and function prediction.

Deployed on Web Server
Research Output

Selected Publications

Peer-reviewed contributions to protein structure prediction, refinement, and quality assessment.

Google Scholar Profile
466+ total citations

Improvement of protein tertiary and quaternary structure predictions using the ReFOLD refinement method and the AlphaFold2 recycling process

Adiyaman, R., Edmunds, N. S., Genc, A. G., Alharbi, S. M. A., & McGuffin, L. J.

Bioinformatics Advances 2023 Cited 19 View Paper

Using local protein model quality estimates to guide a molecular dynamics-based refinement strategy

Adiyaman, R., & McGuffin, L. J.

Homology Modeling: Methods and Protocols (Springer US) 2023 Cited 1 View Paper
Well Cited

Methods for the Refinement of Protein Structure 3D Models

Adiyaman, R., & McGuffin, L. J.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2019 Cited 80 View Paper
New 2025

Prediction and quality assessment of protein quaternary structure models using the MultiFOLD2 and ModFOLDdock2 servers

McGuffin, L. J., Alhaddad, S. N., Behzadi, B., Edmunds, N. S., Genc, A. G., & Adiyaman, R.

Nucleic Acids Research 2025 View Paper
New 2025

Highlights of model quality assessment in CASP16

Fadini, A., Adiyaman, R., Alhaddad, S. N., et al.

Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 2025 View Paper
Well Cited

Prediction of protein structures, functions and interactions using the IntFOLD7, MultiFOLD and ModFOLDdock servers

McGuffin, L. J., Edmunds, N. S., Genc, A. G., Alharbi, S. M. A., Salehe, B. R., & Adiyaman, R.

Nucleic Acids Research 2023 Cited 67 View Paper
Well Cited

Estimation of model accuracy in CASP15 using the ModFOLDdock server

Edmunds, N. S., Alharbi, S. M. A., Genc, A. G., Adiyaman, R., & McGuffin, L. J.

Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 2023 Cited 20 View Paper
Highly Cited

IntFOLD: An integrated web resource for high-performance protein structure and function prediction

McGuffin, L. J., Adiyaman, R., Maghrabi, A. H. A., et al.

Nucleic Acids Research 2019 Cited 145 View Paper
Well Cited

ModFOLD8: Accurate global and local quality estimates for 3D protein models

McGuffin, L. J., Aldowsari, F. M. F., Alharbi, S. M. A., & Adiyaman, R.

Nucleic Acids Research 2021 Cited 78 View Paper
Well Cited

Modeling SARS‐CoV‐2 proteins in the CASP‐Commons experiment

Kryshtafovych, A., ... Adiyaman, R. (CASP-COVID participants), et al.

Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 2021 Cited 22 View Paper

Design and synthesis of small peptide sequences to detect concentrations of free transition metal ions

Yucesan, G., Yilmaz, A., & Adiyaman, R.

Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society 2014
Capabilities

Technical Skills

ML + MD + Cloud

Protein Structure & MD

Expert
AlphaFold2/3, Boltz-2, Chai-1, ESMFold SWISS-MODEL, Modeller, HHpred AMBER, OpenMM, GROMACS MD refinement pipelines (restraints, ensembles) IntFOLD / MultiFOLD / ReFOLD
Experience 9+ yrs

Docking & Drug Design

Expert
AutoDock Vina, gnina, DiffDock SwissDock, Rosetta, FoldX TCR-pMHC modelling Protein-ligand interaction prediction FunFOLD5 (CASP16 2nd place)
Experience 8+ yrs

ML & AI

Expert
PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, XGBoost Feature engineering (16,000+ features) Model quality estimation (ModFOLDdock2Q) DockQ, QS, PatchDockQ, ilDDT scoring Reproducible benchmarking & MLOps
Experience 9+ yrs

Programming & Infrastructure

Advanced
Python, R, Bash/Shell, Perl Flask, CGI, web server deployment HPC (SLURM, PBS), AWS Linux server administration End-to-end bioinformatics pipelines
Experience 7+ yrs

Bioinformatics Tools

Advanced
BLAST, NCBI, EMBOSS, HHpred PyMOL, ChimeraX, OpenStructure Sequence analysis & structural alignment CASP blind prediction benchmarking PDB / CATH / UniProt databases
Experience 9+ yrs

Collaboration & Impact

Expert
14 peer-reviewed papers, H-index 9 470+ citations across leading journals InstaDeep / BioNTech cancer vaccine pipeline Teaching bioinformatics to 150+ students/cohort Code review, documentation, mentoring
Experience 9+ yrs
Education

Academic Foundation

Physics → Bioengineering → Biology
PhD

PhD, Structural Bioinformatics

2017 – 2021
University of Reading Reading, UK

Thesis: 'The Molecular Dynamics Based Refinement of Predicted 3D Models Using Different Restraint Strategies'. Developed ReFOLD2 (top-10 CASP13) and ReFOLD3 (top-5 CASP13, best server CASP14). 4 first-author papers. Supervisor: Prof. Liam McGuffin.

Best Server CASP14 Research-focused
MSc

MSc, Bioengineering

2012 – 2014
Yildiz Technical University Istanbul, Turkey

Thesis: 'In Silico Optimisation of Zinc Binding Proteins for Biosensor Applications'. Computational protein engineering using molecular docking and mutagenesis. GPA 3.86/4.00.

GPA 3.86 / 4.00 Research-focused
MSc

MSc, Physics

2011 – 2013
Trakya University Edirne, Turkey

Dissertation: 'GaAs/GaAlAs Quantum Well'. Research on semiconductor quantum well structures.

Quantum Wells Research Research-focused
BSc

BSc, Physics

2007 – 2011
Trakya University Edirne, Turkey

Coursework in classical mechanics, relativity, and quantum mechanics. Foundation for computational physics and simulation methods.

Physics Foundation Research-focused
Projects

Selected Work

Pipelines & benchmarks

Structural Immunology Pipeline

InstaDeep / BioNTech 2023 – Present

BioNTech Vaccines

End-to-end TCR-pMHC structure prediction pipeline supporting BioNTech's personalised cancer vaccine programme. Integrates AlphaFold2, Boltz-2, and Chai-1 with a hybrid scoring system (FoldX, Rosetta, DockQ, PatchDockQ, ilDDT) for candidate ranking.

TCR-pMHC Modelling Cancer Vaccines Hybrid Scoring AlphaFold2/Boltz-2

IntFOLD / MultiFOLD3

University of Reading 2020 – Present

Outperforms AlphaFold3

Co-led IntFOLD server (30,000+ users, 400,000+ jobs/yr). MultiFOLD3 outperformed AlphaFold3 in quaternary structure prediction by integrating Boltz-2, Chai-1, Protenix and geometric-based rescoring in CAMEO.

Quaternary Prediction Outperforms AlphaFold3 CAMEO Benchmark

FunFOLD5

University of Reading 2023 – 2024

CASP16 2nd Place

Led CASP16 submission achieving 2nd place in protein-ligand pose ranking. Surpasses AlphaFold3 server method in protein-ligand interaction prediction via blind + template docking and affinity scoring.

CASP16 2nd Place Ligand Pose Ranking Beats AlphaFold3

ModFOLDdock2Q

University of Reading 2022 – Present

16,000+ Features

Quality assessment system for protein binders engineered with 16,000+ features combining physics-based and ML scores (DockQ, QS, PatchDockQ, PatchQS, ilDDT, aa-local-lddt, ics). Contributed to CASP15/16 EMA rankings.

16,000+ Features Model Quality Assessment CASP15/16

ReFOLD4

University of Reading 2020 – 2023

Beyond AlphaFold2

MD-based refinement protocol that improves 3D predictions beyond AlphaFold2 accuracy. Integrates local quality estimation with MD recycling; published in Bioinformatics Advances 2023.

Beyond AlphaFold2 MD Refinement QA-guided

ReFOLD2 / ReFOLD3

University of Reading 2017 – 2021

Best Server CASP14

Top-10 (CASP13) and top-5 (CASP13) refinement methods; best server at CASP14. MD restraint strategies lifted predicted structures toward native and improved ligand-site fidelity. 4 first-author papers.

CASP13 Top-5 Best Server CASP14 MD Restraints
Writing

Blog

Benchmarks & pipelines

AlphaFold Solved Protein Folding, Right? Not So Fast.

Five surprising truths about refinement, assembly, and validation in the post-AlphaFold era.

AlphaFold2 Refinement Validation
Read more

From Static to Dynamic: The Future of Protein Modelling

Why we need to move beyond static snapshots to capture the full range of conformational dynamics.

Protein Dynamics AlphaFold Modelling
Read more

Bridging the Gap: AI, MD, and De Novo Design

Integrating deep learning with molecular dynamics and local quality estimation to model mutants and novel folds.

AI Molecular Dynamics De Novo Design
Read more

Impact on Drug Discovery & Synthetic Biology

How dynamic modelling will accelerate therapeutic discovery and the design of next-generation enzymes.

Drug Discovery Synthetic Biology Impact
Read more
Podcasts & Talks

Expert Roundtables

We will publish discussions with experts in protein engineering, AI in drug discovery, and computational biology. Follow the channel for upcoming releases.

Auto-synced from YouTube

Social Updates

Live Updates

Follow my research journey and insights on X and Bluesky

Research Simulations

Visualizing complex biological systems through computational modeling and design.

Stability
High

Protein Design

Designing novel protein folds with high stability. I use deep learning to hallucinate new backbones and sequence design to stabilize them, creating proteins that don't exist in nature.

Protein Engineering

Interactive mutational analysis. Select a variant below to see how specific residue changes impact local packing and stability scores in real-time.

WT
Current State
Wild Type
DockQ
0.85
QS Score
0.92
ICS
0.88
ModFOLD
0.76

Antibody Engineering

Real-time scoring of antibody-antigen interfaces. I optimize sequences to maximize DockQ (structural quality), QS (quaternary structure), and ICS (interface contact score) metrics.

Connect & Network

Professional Channels

Join my research network across these platforms for daily updates on protein design, structural biology toolsets, and academic insights.

Daily Research Intelligence

Protein Design Digest

Curated daily signals from arXiv, PubMed, and BioRxiv — hand-picked and editorially reviewed by Recep Adiyaman, PhD.

126+
Issues Published
Daily
Frequency
Free
Always
arXiv+PubMed
Sources
Collaborate

Let's build the future of biology

I am always open to research collaborations, consulting on protein design pipelines, and partnering on structural biology products. Whether you have a question or a project in mind, reach out.

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