Cancer Systems Biology Consortium
Cancer systems biology is uniquely poised to address the complexity associated with cancer through its unique integration of experimental biology and computational and mathematical analysis. Instead of viewing cancer through the lens of a single mutation or alteration, the goal of cancer systems biology is to provide a bird’s eye view of the changing cancer ecosystem, thus allowing cancer biologists and oncologists to understand and predict how one alteration affects an entire tumor system.
The multidisciplinary Cancer Systems Biology Consortium (CSBC), which includes cancer biologists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, and oncologists, aims to tackle the most perplexing issues in cancer to increase our understanding of tumor biology, treatment options, and patient outcome.
Impact of Cancer Systems Biology Research
There has been an explosion in the quantity of available experimental data from high-throughput and single-cell technologies, such as genomic sequencing, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics. Additionally, targeted experiments on a smaller scale focused on a small number of genes and proteins have provided important information about complex interactions within and between cells. Systems analyses and predictive modeling are necessary to integrate across these datasets that span different length and time scales to convert them into actionable knowledge.
DCB has supported development and growth of the cancer systems biology field since 2004. The Cancer Systems Biology Consortium (CSBC), DCB’s most recent effort to support cancer systems biology research, has three main goals:
- Advance our understanding of mechanisms that underlie fundamental processes in cancer
- Support the broad application of systems biology approaches in cancer research
- Promote the growth of a strong and stable research community in cancer systems biology
An external expert panel evaluated the progress towards accomplishment of these goals in 2020. The panel found that CSBC investigators were contributing significant tools and knowledge towards our understanding of the tumor microenvironment, mechanisms of drug resistance and sensitivity, and cancer metastasis. A summary of CSBC progress and data describing the impact of the CSBC are publicly available, as is the external expert panel report.
It is envisioned that the success of cancer systems biology will encourage investigators to bring a systems biology approach to bear on emerging and difficult cancer questions that will require a systems approach to fully comprehend.
CSBC News
Using single-cell RNA sequencing and organoid models in a Cell study, CSBC researchers at MIT found that the tumor microenvironment drives cell state, plasticity, and treatment response in pancreatic cancer. Learn more about this work in a MIT News article.
CSBC Funding Opportunities and Related Resources
- RFA-CA-21-048: Research Centers for Cancer Systems Biology (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- Slides and recording of the pre-application webinar for RFA-CA-21-048
CSBC Digital Media
Learn more about the CSBC via the following digital media platforms:
- CSBC Website
- CSBC Twitter: @NCIsysbio
Funded Projects
Institution | Principal Investigator(s) | Center Title |
---|---|---|
Arizona State University | Carlo Maley, Darryl K. Shibata | Arizona Cancer and Evolution Center (ACE) |
City of Hope | Andrea H. Bild | Combating Subclonal Evolution of Resistant Cancer Phenotypes |
Columbia University | Andrea Califano, Barry H. Honig | Centers for Cancer Systems Therapeutics(CaST) |
Harvard Medical School | Peter K. Sorger | Systems Pharmacology of Therapeutic and Adverse Responses to Immune Checkpoint and Small Molecule Drugs |
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Christina S. Leslie, Alexander Y. Rudensky | The CSBC Research Center for Cancer Systems Immunology at MSKCC |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Scott R. Manalis, Douglas A. Lauffenburger | Quantitative and Functional Characterization of Therapeutic Resistance in Cancer |
Oregon Health & Science University | Laura M. Heiser, Emek Demir, Gordon B. Mills, Rosalie C. Sears, Claire J. Tomlin | Measuring, Modeling and Controlling Heterogeneity |
Stanford University | Sylvia K. Plevritis, Garry P. Nolan | Modeling the Role of Lymph Node Metastases in Tumor-Mediated Immunosuppression |
University of California, Irvine | John Lowengrub, Arthur D. Lander, Marian L. Waterman | Complexity, Cooperation and Community in Cancer |
University of California, San Francisco | Nevan Krogan, Trey Ideker | Research Center for Cancer Systems Biology: Cancer Cell Map Initiative |
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio | Tim H.M. Huang, Victor Jin, Qianben Wang | Systems Analysis of Epigenomic Architecture in Cancer Progression |
Vanderbilt University | Vito Quaranta | Phenotype Heterogeneity and Dynamics in SCLC |
Yale University | Andre Levchenko | Systems Analysis of Phenotypic Switch in Control of Cancer Invasion |
Research Projects in Cancer Systems Biology (U01s)
Coordinating Center for the CSBC (U24)
Institution | Principal Investigator(s) | Center Title |
---|---|---|
Sage Bionetworks | Julie Bletz | Coordination Center for Open Collaboration in Systems Biology |