Establishing Wisconsin's First Cancer Precision Medicine Simulation Unit

Transforming and advancing the interpretation of cancer-associated gene mutations

Full Project Name:Establishing Wisconsin's First Cancer Precision Medicine Simulation UnitPrincipal Investigator:Raul Urrutia, MD, Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine CenterAward Amount:$4,000,000

Award Date

February2019

Project Duration:60 months

Project Description Narrative:

In the field of precision medicine, simulations are critical in order to deal with human material, as experimentation on humans is not possible. By establishing the first Precision Medicine Simulation Unit (PMSU) in the state of Wisconsin, the Medical College of Wisconsin's Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Center aims to advance the interpretation of cancer-associated gene mutations and ultimately develop powerful tools to fight these diseases.

Through this award, MCW's Genomic Sciences and Precision Medicine Center will establish the first PMSU in Wisconsin. developing the tools to process cancer genomics data, supporting experimental assays, and enhancing tools available to researchers and medical practice for interpreting genomics data.

Project Updates:

Continued efforts leading to the discovery of new methods of interpretation of pancreatic cancer associated mutations
Consulted and collaborated with geneticists nationally and internationally to inform their research by growing connections with NIH, Mayo Clinic, Spain, France, and Italy, which have grown the national and international reputation of Wisconsin's first precision medicine simulation unit
Completed the integration of the chemical biology activities necessary for benchmarking the project's methods, to a state-of-the-art structural genomic unit, located at GSPMC
Produced a large amount of data through the structural genomic unit that has directly led to grant submissions and publications
Completed the integration of the functional validation group that uses genetically engineered cells and animal models to benchmark the predictions derived from new methods in data science