The ultimate goal of the MIT/Mayo PS-OC is to develop a multiscale predictive model connecting non-invasive imaging (tissue scale) to predicted therapeutic distribution (tissue-cellular scale) and dynamic molecular cellular response (cellular-molecular scale). Beyond this over-arching goal, the Data Handling and Integration Core will provide key infrastructure to each Project through data management and storage, integration of diverse data types, and model construction. The Core will be led by Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger, an expert in systems biology and application of engineering principles to biological systems, with over twenty years of expertise in developing computational modeling techniques and applying these approaches to extract key biological insights from complex systems. Other members of the core include Dr. K. Dane Wittrup, an expert in protein engineering and quantitative pharmacology, Dr. Kristin Swanson, an expert in computational modeling with strong experience in extracting biological insight from non-invasive imaging techniques, and Dr. Nathalie Agar, an expert in MALDI-MSI, stimulated Raman spectroscopy, and imaging of drug distribution in brain tumors. Together, these investigators provide the requisite expertise and experience to fulfill each of the Core functions. The primary responsibilities of the core include: Core Task 1. Manage the data generated by the diverse array of analytical and physical biology methods that will be employed in Projects 1 and 2 and extract relevant information from the data files generated by each method. Core Task 2. Data integration and computational modeling. Core Task 3. Construction of a multiscale model predicting spatially resolved drug distribution and drug efficacy (molecular and cellular response to therapy) from non-invasive MR imaging.
