Calculating the Best Drug Regimens
Faculty Mentor’s Name: Dr. Helen Moore
Email: helen.moore@medicine.ufl.edu
Phone: (352) 273-9552
Faculty Department/Division: Systems Medicine
International Component or Travel: No
Research Project Description:
Which combinations of therapies will be most efficacious for patients? This question can be challenging to answer generally. However, mechanistic mathematical modeling can provide insights into this question, and these insights 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 working on this project will work with me and one of my several established teams of experimental/clinical faculty collaborators. The goal will be for the student to create 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 the model. Additionally, students with some coding experience can run simulations to determine the most influential pathways for a given disease.
Current project opportunities may include modeling one of several cancer types, organ transplant, anticoagulation, or other disease areas. There will be opportunities to present the work as a poster and to publish a manuscript.