FBR: Dr. Brinton Seashore-Ludlow

Speaker: Dr. Brinton Seashore-Ludlow
Senior Research Specialist | Docent
Precision cancer medicine – Olli Kallioniemi’s group
Functional Precision Medicine – Brinton Seashore-Ludlow’s Team

How much complexity is enough? Balancing biological relevance, informative readouts and scalability

Abstract:

Advanced cellular models can capture aspects of human biology that are poorly represented in conventional cell-based assays. However, increasing model complexity often comes at the cost of scalability and experimental throughput, while the value of complex models may be lost if their responses are reduced to simple endpoint measurements. The challenge is therefore to determine both the biological complexity needed in a model and the measurements required to capture it.

In this talk, I will discuss our efforts to balance these considerations in developing scalable cellular models for drug discovery and precision medicine. Miniaturized 3D liver models illustrate how physiologically relevant features can be incorporated while retaining compatibility with large-scale perturbation and profiling. I will then focus on DET3Ct, which combines short-term patient-derived ovarian cancer models with high-content imaging to quantify heterogeneous drug responses beyond conventional viability measurements.

Finally, I will discuss when additional model complexity becomes necessary, using approaches that incorporate stromal interactions and components of the metastatic niche. Together, these examples illustrate a fit-for-purpose approach in which complexity is introduced through both the biological model and its measurement, with the goal of capturing sufficient biological information while retaining scalability and experimental utility.