AI Summary
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have developed a computational method called Spectra to improve the analysis of single-cell transcriptomic data. Spectra can provide insights into the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells, aiding in the development of immunotherapy treatments. The algorithm can identify relevant gene expression programs and is useful for identifying biomarkers and drug targets in immuno-oncology. Spectra is freely available to researchers worldwide. "I'm happy to discover new biology," says study senior author Dana Pe'er.
Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have developed a new open-source computational method, dubbed Spectra, which improves the analysis of single-cell transcriptomic data.
By guiding data analysis in a unique way, Spectra can offer new insights into the complex interplay between cells -; like the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells, which are critical to improving immunotherapy treatments.
The team’s approach and findings were recently published in Nature Biotechnology, one of the most influential journals in the field.
Spectra, the researchers note, can cut through technical “noise” to identify functionally relevant gene expression programs, including those that are novel or highly specific to a particular biological context.
The algorithm is well suited to study data from large patient cohorts and to suss out clinically meaningful patient characteristics, the MSK team writes in a research briefing that accompanies the study, adding that Spectra is ideal for identifying biomarkers and drug targets in the burgeoning field of immuno-oncology.
Additionally, the MSK team has made Spectra freely available to researchers around the world.
“I’m trained as a computer scientist,” says study senior author Dana Pe’er, PhD, who chairs the Computational and Systems Biology Program at MSK’s Sloan Kettering Institute. “Every single tool I build, I strive to make robust so it can be used in many contexts, not just one. I also try and make them as accessible as possible.”
“I’m happy to discover new biology,” she continues. “And I’m just as happy -; perhaps happier -; to build