Tissue complexity emerges from interactions of components across various biological systems, such as exogenous factors from the microbiota and different types of host cells, and the body's immune cells to the presence of tumors. These interactions occur across genetic, molecular, and spatial domains. Although single-cell and spatial -omics approaches are already capable of profiling various components at an atlas scale, there is still a significant gap in effectively transforming these methods from correlative studies to hypothesis-driven studies. Here, we present two stories on how -omic level data and computational analyses can be integrated with experimental models (human, mouse, and organoid) for mechanistic studies: 1) in understanding rare epithelial cell populations in modulating inflammation in the gut, and 2) in modeling a pre-cancer-to-cancer transition in the colon. We present emerging techniques, analyses, and the key roles they play in understanding the complex interactions that dictate tissue function in homeostasis and disease.

This international conference is organised in the framework of the BIOPHARMACEUTICALS ARD CVL Programme.

SPEAKERS

Prof. Ken Lau Epithelial Biology Center at VUMC and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine - US

Dr. Lau is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Departments of Cell and Developmental Biology and Surgery at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His research applies systems biology approaches to study tissue function as determined by the sum of its interacting part. Dr. Lau was trained in combining experimentation and modeling to study complex biological phenomena. He completed is PhD in Bioinformatics and Proteomics in 2008 at the University of Toronto, Canada. After a 4 year postdoc at Harvard/MIT under the tutelage of Drs. Kevin Haigis and Douglas Lauffenburger, he started the Lau Lab at Vanderbilt in the spring of 2013. Dr. Lau is interested in new molecular technologies for cellular and tissue profiling and new data science approaches to get the most out of Big Data in the biomedical sciences.

Dr Andrea Rolong  Epithelial Biology Center at VUMC and Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine - US

Dr. Rolong received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Florida International University and she graduated from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Her doctoral research focused on studying the biophysical properties of cells and tissues to advance the use of pulsed electric fields as a cancer treatment modality. During her postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in the department of Cell and Developmental Biology, she is interested in utilizing organoids to study the role of tumor initiating cells (TICs) in the progression and metastasis of colorectal cancer, and to probe signaling networks involved in these processes at the single cell level. She has received funding from a T32CA119925 grant and U2CCA233291S1 Diversity Supplement and is a 2023 Janssen SODEP Scholar.