Using mathematical modeling to facilitate the translation of research findings
Katharina Lauk – Hector Fellow Jens Timmer
Despite extensive research in personalized medicine, promising personalized therapies still fail to translate into clinical practice. In my research project, I aim to construct a pathway model that predicts the effects of potential therapies by combining mechanistic modeling and experimental approaches to meet ideal criteria for facilitating the translation of research to patients.
In personalized medicine, the underlying cause of a disease is precisely characterized based on specific changes to treat it with an appropriate targeted therapy. Unfortunately, successful personalized therapies do not make the transition to clinical practice and remain stuck in scientific literature, despite intensive research in this field.
The bench-to-bedside translation process requires consideration of a number of criteria, that should be ideally incorporated into the research process, including providing an answer to an important clinical question, showing a correct outcome classification, enabling standardization, and being cost-effective. The mathematical description of disease dynamics is ideal to fulfill these criteria during the research process, ensuring that basic science results do not remain lost in translation but find their way to the patient.
In my research project within the Hector Fellow Academy, I plan an interdisciplinary approach with a combination of mathematical ordinary differential equation modeling, computational analysis, and experimental work to create a pathway model that can predict the effect of potential drugs. Networking with potential clinical collaborators will be a part of my work. With the increased relevance and reliability of the
research results generated using the model and its successful validation, I would like to highlight that mathematical modeling is able to significantly enhance the translation process.
Graphic: Facilitate the translation of scientific research into clinical practice using mathematical modeling.
Katharina Lauk
University of FreiburgSupervised by
Jens Timmer
Physics, Mathematics & BiologyHector Fellow since 2010