The Thorsson-Shmulevich Lab, led by Dr. Vésteinn Thorsson, develops and applies computational and mathematical approaches for modeling biological systems and analyzing large-scale data sets.
Abstracted image of a cancer regulome from ISB-CGC. Image credit: ISB.
Patients, health care providers and researchers are creating vast troves of data essential to developing precision cancer therapies. To advance care, this data must be widely shared. ISB hosts one of three National Cancer Institute Cloud Resources that allow access and provide analytical tools to mine terabytes of data that would not otherwise be so easily accessible.
Digital twin concept. Image: AdobeStock/ISB.
ISB is building a digital twin system for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. A digital twin – a computer simulation of a patient allowing continuous monitoring and testing of treatment plans – enables physicians and patients to improve care.
Brightfield image of a KRAS mutant pancreas organoid; scale 1000 μm. Image Credit: ISB Collaborator, Kemp Laboratory – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, from their publication.
The ISB is part of a research network that aims to develop personalized effective cancer therapies. Collaborators at Fred Hutch grow patient-derived tumor cells into 3D tissue cultures called organoids, which act like mini-tumors in a dish, and can be used to safely test drugs. The ISB team develops computational approaches that identify the most effective drugs for individual patients.
Image from the NCI Human Tumor Atas Network website.
Launched in 2016, one of the initial White House Cancer Moonshot Initiatives is the Human Tumor Atlas Network to advance understanding of tumor evolution and refine treatment choices for a diverse population of people with cancer. ISB with Sage Bionetworks, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center plays a central role directing the Network’s Data Coordinating Center.
Cover image from the NCI Imaging Data Commons website. Courtesy NCI IDC.
Health care providers regularly use PET, MRI and other imaging tools for cancer treatment. With AI advances, researchers use these and other images to understand cancer occurrence and treatment options. In 2020, the National Cancer Institute, with participation from ISB and others, launched the cloud-based Imaging Data Commons giving researchers and clinicians broad access to imaging data and associated analytical tools.
Researcher working at a computer in the mass spec lab at ISB. Photo credit: Steve Utaski / Remedy Pictures.
Accessing the vast multitude of biomedical and scientific data is a bottleneck slowing the translation of research into care. The Hood Lab’s Gwênlyn Glusman, with the Hadlock and Thorsson-Shmulevich Labs, is fixing this “first-mile” problem by integrating data troves into the Biomedical Data Translator. The Translator enables researchers to access and query this knowledge, extracting information urgently needed to improve clinical care.
ISB hosted a full-day symposium – titled Resonance – celebrating the life and scientific contributions of Professor Ilya Shmulevich, who passed away in April 2024 from complications of acute myeloid leukemia.
Devoted husband and father. Animal lover. Accomplished pianist. Avid cyclist. Compassionate human. Exceptional scientist. The ISB community mourns the loss of Professor Ilya Shmulevich, PhD, who died on April 13, 2024. He was 54 years old.
The quest to create cultivated meat has been a true multidisciplinary puzzle. It’s biology, engineering, physics, bioinformatics, mathematics, computer science, and more. Enter systems biology. ISB and other organizations are toiling to better understand how to create lab-grown meat in a safe, effective manner that can eventually scale up to compete with traditional meat.
Principal Scientist
ISB