Mentoring in Data Science for Big Data and omics in Immunologic Diseases - ABSTRACT Accurate and automated prediction of disease outcomes has the potential to significantly improve patient health by informing personalized interventions for individual patients. Distinguishing which patients will progress to more severe disease from patients who will require minimal intervention at the time of diagnosis remains an urgent unmet need. In this proposal, Sana Syed, MD, MSCR, MSDS will solve this gap by training junior clinical investigators in novel approaches for integrating data science into multi-omic big data. The training provided in this award will expand the number of patient-oriented clinical investigators able to apply data science approaches to complex research problems and improve precision medicine research into immunologic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. By leveraging large cohorts of patient-derived heterogenous big data, trainees can identify novel biomarkers and therapeutics, better predict future outcomes of disease, and provide better, more individualized medical care. Dr. Syed has established a track record of impactful training to researchers and clinicians at all stages of their careers, from high school to junior faculty. Her mentoring success has been underpinned by leveraging her existing research projects to provide training opportunities in the realm of data-science driven immunologic disease and precision medicine research. In this award, she will further expand her training approach to use several research infrastructures for training, including R01, foundation, and three large clinical trial projects through the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The biospecimens, data science tools, and heterogenous patient- derived health data within these studies will provide an immense volume of data to support a multitude of trainee projects. The largest clinical trial projects Dr. Syed is associated with at the DCRI houses a number of clinical trials, each focused on various aspects of child and maternal health. These projects are led by experts and physician scientists focused on patient-oriented research with expertise in operationalizing global studies. This training program will leverage the immense volume heterogenous big data collated through these existing and prospective projects (over 4500 GI biopsies from over 750 subjects) to support opportunities for trainees in a variety of fields pertaining to infectious and immunologic disease. Moreover, the collaborative networks within all of these projects will allow trainees to access intellectual and technical support from leading experts in numerous fields and approaches, further amplifying the quality of training they will receive.
