SBIR Phase I: Computational platform to infer putative causative pathways of pathology using spatial omics data

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将是改善肾脏疾病的临床结果和生活质量。这项技术将有助于识别生物标记物，并使新的个性化治疗能够提高疗效并减少有害副作用。这项创新将利用在可视化生物样本中的分子方面的新增强，并将提高对复杂疾病的科学理解。拟议的项目将利用新兴的空间组学领域的力量来建立一个新的计算平台。空间层面的多重组学技术正在改变我们对癌症和代谢性疾病等复杂疾病的理解。这些技术对于更好地了解正常器官结构的异质性以及复杂的慢性代谢性疾病和癌症的发展过程中的变化非常重要。基于质谱学的平台已经引领了多组学的空间应用，但量化质谱学成像的输出仍然是一个挑战。研究的目标是将分子的定位与病理特征相关联并优化，并确定驱动疾病发展的关键生化途径。这些方法将包括计算病理学、质谱学成像和人工智能/机器学习方法。预期的技术成果将是开发技术，将半定量的输出转化为严格的定量结果，以确定驱动疾病发展的途径。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for kidney disease. This technology will help identify biomarkers and enable new personalized treatments to improve efficacy and reduce harmful side effects. The innovation will leverage new enhancements in visualizing molecules in biological samples and will improve scientific understanding of complex diseases. The proposed project will leverage the power of the emerging field of spatial omics to build a novel computational platform. Multi-omics technology at a spatial level is changing our understanding of complex conditions, such as cancer and metabolic diseases. These technologies are important to better understand heterogeneity of normal organ structure and changes during the development of complex chronic metabolic diseases and cancers. Mass spectrometry-based platforms have led multi-omic spatial applications, but quantifying the output of mass spectrometry imaging remains a challenge. The research objectives are to correlate and optimize localization of molecules with pathologic features and identify key biochemical pathways that drive disease development. The methods will include computational pathology, mass spectrometry imaging, and artificial intelligence/ machine learning approaches. The anticipated technical results will be development of technologies that convert semi-quantitative output to rigorous, quantitative results for identification of pathways driving disease development.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.