Modeling Species Interaction in the Gut Microbiota using Data from Hospitalized Patients

The gut microbiota is a microbial ecosystem amenable to mathematical modeling. We will discuss our work at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where we use data from patients to quantify the ecological interactions. The data consists of timeseries of microbial populations and clinical metadata such as the antibiotics given to patients and their number of white blood cells on each day. The model reveals which microbes are most important for patient immunity. Studying ecology directly from patient data can help drive new treatments to modulate immunity by engineering the gut microbiome. For more details see: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2971-8 Ushering Therapeutic Sound Waves into the Era of Precision Cancer Immuno-Oncology Natasha D Sheybani University of Virginia Despite the promise of cancer immunotherapy, a significant fraction of cancer patients are yet unable to realize its unparalleled benefits. Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a versatile, emerging technology for the non-invasive, non-ionizing, and precisely targeted deposition of acoustic energy into tumor tissues. Recent years have unveiled the capacity of FUS to potentiate cancer immunotherapy through immuno-modulation and targeted drug delivery. In this talk, I will discuss our translational efforts to systematically interrogate the impact of thermal and mechanical FUS regimes on immunological sequelae and extracellular vesicles in solid tumor settings (e.g. metastatic breast cancer, glioblastoma). I will also introduce our goal of ushering FUS into the era of precision immuno-oncology using advanced imaging, liquid biopsy, and artificial intelligence. For more details see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6831458/ *Contents* 0:00 - Introduction: J Glazier 2:17 - Coming Up Next week 3:33 - Seminar: Joao Xavier: Modeling Species Interaction in the Gut Microbiota using Data from Hospitalized Patients 28:13 - Q&A Session 33:37 - Seminar: Natasha D Sheybani: Ushering Therapeutic Sound Waves into the Era of Precision Cancer Immuno-Oncology 1:11:27 - Q&A Session If you found this video useful, please check out our other videos on computational modeling, infection and immunology: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiEtieOeWbMKh9VcQoinSwODcSZKMTGat Please consider joining our IMAG/MSM WG on Multiscale Modeling and Viral Pandemics: https://www.imagwiki.nibib.nih.gov/content/msm-viral-pandemics-meetings Please also consider joining the Global Alliance for Immune Prediction and Intervention: http://glimprint.org/