# Identifying Biomarkers from Multi-source, Multi-way Data

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2022 · $298,841

## Abstract

Project Summary
In medical research, a growing number of high-content platforms and technologies are used to measure di-
verse but related information. Examples include sequencing of the genome, epigenome, transcriptome and
translatome, metabolite proﬁling, and imaging modalities. Moreover, data from the same high-content platform
are often measured over multiple dimensions, such as multiple tissues, body regions, or developmental time
points. We refer to data measured over multiple platforms or technologies as multi-source, and data measured
over multiple dimensions as multi-way. Many modern biomedical studies collect data that are both multi-source
and multi-way, meaning multi-way data are collected from multiple platforms. Multi-source multi-way data has
enormous potential to capture and synthesize every facet of a complex biological system. However, to date
there has been little methodology developed for fully integrative analysis of such data. We will focus on devel-
oping methods to identify biomarkers for a clinical outcome from multi-source multi-way data. Biomarkers are
often used as a surrogate for disease progression or as an endpoint for clinical trials, and so their precision
in capturing a given medical phenomenon is crucial. We propose to develop new composite biomarker meth-
ods that identify patterns across multiple sources of data, and multiple dimensions, that are associated with
a clinical outcome. Our central hypothesis is that a fully integrated and multivariate approach will yield more
precise biomarkers and simplify their interpretation. The novel product of this project will be a suite of methods
extending common biomarker tasks to the multi-source multi-way context, including dimension reduction (Aim
1a), missing value imputation (Aim 1b), high-dimensional prediction (Aim 2) and dependent hypothesis testing
(Aim 3). This work is motivated by our involvement in several ongoing collaborative translational projects with
rich multi-source multi-way data, including biomarker discovery for the development of lung cancer in chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease patients, for the progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Friedre-
ich's Ataxia, and for brain iron deﬁciency in infants. We will apply and rigorously assess our multi-source
multi-way approaches on these applications. All methods will be implemented in free, open-source and easily
accessible software to facilitate their use by other researchers and practitioners.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10307613
- **Project number:** 5R01GM130622-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Eric F Lock
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $298,841
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-01 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10307613

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10307613, Identifying Biomarkers from Multi-source, Multi-way Data (5R01GM130622-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10307613. Licensed CC0.

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