Modeling and Control in Cancer Genomics

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Intellectual Merit: The aim of this project is to use and adapt ideas from Control Theory to develop improved methods for treating cancer. The disease originates from aberrant gene functioning at the molecular level and, therefore, it is crucial that techniques for diagnosing and treating cancers take the genetic differences between individuals into account. Unfortunately, the currently used therapies for cancer are of the one-size-fits-all type and, therefore, it is not surprising that their success rate is quite low and unpredictable. This project will examine the possibility of remedying this situation. The researchers and their collaborators have already obtained substantial theoretical results on the related problems, and validation experiments are currently under way. This project will address the many theoretical challenges that will arise as the experiments progress over the next two to three years. Broader Impacts: The results of the research resulting from this project will be disseminated to the community by organizing conferences, workshops and short courses. We will go the extra mile to ensure that the benefits of our research and educational activities reach underrepresented minorities by (i) making our genomics courses available to minority institutions; (ii) actively collaborating with researchers there; and (iii) recruiting more women and minority students into our laboratory. Our current efforts in these directions will be kept at the same level, if not further intensified. The most significant long term impact of our work would be to replace existing one-size-fits-all cancer therapies with individually customized and better ones derived from engineering approaches.