CAREER: Virtual physiology of human tumor tissue for malignancy quantification

University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Abstract

This project is developing virtual tumor tissues to address the shortcomings of in-vitro models and reduce the reliance on animal models by replicating human tissue. These virtual tissues are applied to enhance the understanding of tumor malignancy and mechanisms involved that increase the accuracy of early diagnosis and treatment decision-making for the most prevalent type of pancreatic tumor, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The method to develop a virtual PDAC is personalize-able to represent a specific human tissue and generalizable to generate other tissues that can be used to elucidate mechanisms involved in the progression of other diseases such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, healing of chronic wounds and bones, and spreading of viruses and immune cells. This project provides early exposure to STEM for undergraduate students, to learn about and apply advanced computing in biomedical engineering. Furthermore, this project supports early research opportunities from sophomore year onward to prepare them for graduate study. This project will enhance a diverse workforce by mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and incorporating advanced computing into the undergraduate curriculum. In this CAREER project, a patient-specific image-based in-silico modeling is developed and applied to replicate the virtual physiology of human tumor tissue. The developed virtual tumor tissues generate a fundamental understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the tumor’s malignancy, composition, and characteristics that alter the tumor’s malignancy. Furthermore, the model development of this proposal yields a state-of-the-art platform to replicate the complexity and heterogeneity of tumor tissue as observed in humans. Massively parallel codes accomplish the in-silico modeling to overcome memory capacity limitations and reduce time-to-solution. The in-silico models of human tissue are vital for envisioned disease progression screening, mechanistic studies, pre-clinical trials, and a safe environment for new treatment evaluations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.