In the history of science, some of the greatest results
have been reached when the best minds
from different disciplines have come together to solve a
common problem. The Institute for
Computational Medicine provides an organized platform for
collaborative research, through inter-
disciplinary initiatives aimed at unlocking the causes of
today's major diseases. Currently, the
ICM is involved in several major collaborative studies with
talented researchers in Hopkins' School of Medicine, as
well as in special projects within the Institute itself,
addressing the following diseases.
Cancer
Today, cancer is recognized as one of the major diseases
in the world. But what is not so widely
known is that in terms of the numbers of cases, prostate
cancer is currently the most prevalent
form of the disease in the U.S.
At the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at the
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, the battle to combat prostate cancer is focusing
on the cellular level. At present, Institute researchers
are searching for a way to identify the disease's level
of intensity, in order to develop better screens for appropriate
treatment. The key to finding these tests lies in the
complex data sets assembled by the Institute through its
own research.
Thanks to the collaborative involvement of the ICM, that
search is taking on a new momentum.
As one Institute researcher put it, "The ICM provides
us with new ways of understanding the data
we already have, along with new insights and conclusions."
In particular, ICM researchers have
developed new computational tools to evaluate the Institute
's data and capture information previously missed. Through
superior data analysis, definable "fingerprints"
marking the aggressiveness of prostate cancer will be
recognized and applied to better diagnosis of this disease.
Epidemiology
While much of the ICM's research focuses on cellular
materials, the Institute is also applying its
expertise to assessing the very large problems caused
by possible pandemics, such as avian flu.
In this study of global epidemiology and the spread of
contagious disease, ICM researchers are working together
with Hopkins' Bloomberg School for Public Health and
its researchers in the
Department of International Health - Disease Prevention
and Control. Bloomberg researchers
are currently developing computational models of epidemic
diseases in order to track their potential spread, based
on a variety of changing environmental and human factors.
With their computational skills, ICM researchers are
helping to analyze and assemble meaningful
data sets, which in turn can reveal emerging patterns
about the dynamics of an epidemic disease.
By understanding how such a disease might spread under
diverse conditions, a more precise strategy to control
or reduce its range could be developed.
Genetic Disease
Within the genome of every human being is a code that
once unlocked, can reveal why some are at risk for certain
diseases and others are not -and more importantly, when
they are at risk. At the Johns Hopkins Institute of Genetic
Medicine (IGM), medical researchers are seeking to detect
the genetic and molecular causes of those common diseases
that affect many adults, and what may cause them to be
triggered. Specifically, they are focusing on the genetic
factors that cause autism and sudden cardiac death.
In supporting this research, the ICM is providing statistical
analyses and other computational
methodologies to facilitate the interpretation of vast
amounts of data gathered by IGM researchers. The goal
is to pinpoint specific genes whose interaction
can lead to disease. The ICM is also addressing the storage
and dissemination of this data by creating an integrated
database to organize information at various levels of
resolution.
Overall, IGM researchers see great promise in their collaboration
with the ICM. As one commented, "Together, we are
collaborating with the ICM to really discover and create
new methods for studying the genetics of common diseases."
Heart Disease
Proteins are the active, functioning elements of every
cell -which is why researchers today are finding that
their study (called proteomics) provides a more powerful
means for tracking the mechanics of certain diseases.
Partnering with the NHLBI (National Heart Lung Blood
Institute) Proteomics Center at Johns
Hopkins, ICM researchers are developing a customized software
database that will allow that center 's researchers to
access and organize their massive proteomic data with
greater precision, as well as to extract more specific
answers, in the study of various heart diseases. The ICM also is designing computational tools to speed
up data analysis. These tools include custom software
that will allow the movement of data or database searches,
as well as statistical algorithms that first can identify
trends in a dataset and then create rankings within that
data to pinpoint results more clearly.
Vasculitis
While the name may suggest a single disease, vasculitis
refers to several that share a unifying condition: the
involvement of inflammation within the blood vessel wall.
Different forms of vasculitis attack individual organ
systems -very commonly, the lungs and kidneys, the skin,
the peripheral nerves, and the eyes -each generating its
own set of symptoms and effects, like blindness, kidney
failure, or arthritis. As a result, treatments differ
from disease to disease.
At The Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center, scientists are
engaged in proteomics studies in attempting to determine
the relationship of blood cell proteins to vasculitis-related
disease activity. To assist in this search, ICM researchers
are applying bioinformatics tools to organize complex
research data, and as importantly, to recognize patterns
and combinations within the data that could help to define
certain disease states.
The long-term goal for the combined team is to identify
biomarkers that will provide the diagnostic
tools to know when vasculitis is present, and when it
is not. Having a clearer knowledge of the disease 's presence
will give physicians the ability to suspend aggressive
therapies on patients that could otherwise prove traumatic
over time.
Read "Achieving a Common Goal"
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