Calculating Optimal Drug Regimens
Name:
Dr. Helen Moore
Email
helen.moore@medicine.ufl.edu
Phone
(352) 273-8718
Faculty Department/Division
Laboratory for Systems Medicine
This project is primarily:
Translational
Research Project Description:
The timing and dose levels of therapies in a combination treatment regimen can make a significant difference in patient outcomes. But which regimens will be most efficacious for patients? This question can be challenging to answer generally, since there are too many possible combinations to test them all experimentally. However, mechanistic mathematical modeling can predict optimal regimens, and these regimens can then be experimentally tested and validated.
Common methods for developing mechanistic math models are based on literature knowledge or RNA-seq data to determine key cell signaling pathways. Once we have a model, we can run simulations to determine which pathways are most important, and could possibly control the disease and/or achieve the best possible patient outcomes.
Students will work with me and one of my several established teams of students and experimental/clinical faculty collaborators. The goal will be for the MSRP student to contribute to the creation or analysis of a model for a disease. The student will have the chance to learn about and become highly-knowledgeable in the disease studied. College calculus will be useful for building or understanding the model and the model parameters. One contribution would be to find model parameter estimates. This involves reading the medical and biological literature, figuring out how to estimate the parameters, and explaining all of that in writing. Additionally, students with some coding experience or interest can run simulations to determine the most influential pathways for a given disease.
Current project opportunities may include modeling breast cancer, glioma, melanoma, osteosarcoma, multiple myeloma, organ transplant, or other disease areas. There will be opportunities to present the work as a poster and to be a co-author on a manuscript.
Does this project have an international component or travel?
No