02 December 2024
Cancers represent complex ecosystems that include tumor cells and a variety of non-cancerous cells such as immune cells, stroma cells, and other cell types present in the surrounding tissues, all embedded in a modified extracellular matrix. This environment within and around the tumor is known as the tumor microenvironment (TME). Investigations of the TME have uncovered specific tumor immune patterns termed architypes1, which have led to a novel classification of tumors based on their TME composition. Ultimately, this research has resulted in the identification of 12 immune archetypes that were either specific for defined tumor stages or are shared among different tumor indications.
Advancements in machine learning and AI approaches for the analysis of single-cell and omics data offer unprecedented opportunities to infer new characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and to further explore the concept of immune archetypes. However, to our knowledge, no studies have been conducted to integrate all available information to interrogate defined patterns within the TME.
With our recent opnMe call, we invite machine learning and data science experts to uncover unique and common tumor immune archetypes by analyzing single cell and spatial omics data from public or proprietary sources.
How would you propose to identify immune archetypes in tumor microenvironment using single cell and spatial omics data, leveraging advances in data science and AI?
Highly distinguished Boehringer Ingelheim scientists from computational biology, data science, and oncology research will review your proposal. Your ideas will be pursued collaboratively and receive funding of up to 250,000 euros, should you emerge as one of the successful winners of this opnMe call.
Submit your ideas now, as your proposals can only be accepted if they arrive by February 11, 2025, 11:59 pm PST.
No registration required
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About our opn2EXPERTS question:
How would you propose to identify immune archetypes in tumor microenvironment using single cell and spatial omics data, leveraging advances in data science and AI?
With ambitious questions such as this, we share precisely formulated scientific questions with the research community as part of our opn2EXPERTS program. Together with winning teams, we intend to explore novel solutions for discovery research that will ultimately benefit the needs of patients.
About opnMe:
opnMe.com, the open innovation portal of Boehringer Ingelheim, fosters science and collaboration initiatives in areas of high unmet medical need. As part of our first pillar, the “Molecules to Order”, we share well-characterized tool compounds free of charge with no IP strings attached. These are complemented by “Molecules for Collaboration” where we offer access to unprecedented, often unpublished molecules, together with an attractive funding package. Interested scientists are invited to submit testable research hypotheses with these assets in novel diseases or combinations. With our “opn2EXPERTS” program, we enlist scientific advice on key biologic issues to fuel further drug discovery and deliver novel solutions that benefit unmet patient needs. Our opn2TALENTS PostDoc grants provide an opportunity for high-caliber talents to pitch their scientific approaches for well-defined research questions to conduct their research at one of our discovery research sites.
Reference:
1Combes A. J., Samad B., Tsui J., Chew N. W., Yan P., Reeder G. C., Kushnoor D., Shen A., Davidson B., Barczak A. J., Adkisson M., Edwards A., Naser M., Barry K. C., Courau T., Hammoudi T., Argüello R. J., Rao A. A., Olshen A. B., Cai C., Zhan J., Davis K. C., Kelley R. K., Chapman J. S., Atreya C. E., Patel A., Daud A. I., Ha P., Diaz A. A., Kratz J. R., Collisson E. A., Fragiadakis G. K., Erle D. J., Boissonnas A., Asthana S., Chan V., Krummel M. F. Discovering dominant tumor immune archetypes in a pan-cancer census Cell. 2022, 185(1):184-203.e19. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.004, PubMed.