Modeling Core

NIH RePORTER · AI · U19 · $344,151 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract – Modeling Core The Modeling Core, as part of SCRIPT, aimed to apply machine learning approaches to clinical and -omics data generated by the SCRIPT projects and cores to develop a models of severe pneumonia and identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Using an iterative systems biology approach, we generated a detailed model, published in Nature, of how severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, in contrast with severe pneumonia due to other pathogens, possesses a peculiar host response pathobiology that explains its propensity to cause prolonged critical illness. Importantly, SCRIPT’s model predicted the efficacy of an experimental pharmacologic intervention in SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia – the CRAC channel inhibitor Auxora. In this renewal, Super-SCRIPT (SCRIPT2) will continue to leverage serial sampling of biological materials (bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasal epithelium, blood) paired with cutting-edge multi-omics technologies and deep clinical phenotyping to develop models of pneumonia pathogenesis which could augment clinical decision making. We used clinical and -omics data collected and generated during the first cycle of this award to generate preliminary data for the renewal. We discretized time in the ICU and related physiological measures on a per-day basis, similar to how physicians view and treat patients with severe pneumonia in the ICU. Our novel approach overcomes a critical limitation in the application of machine learning approaches to clinical data, which often do not take into account interventions that can change the course of the disease and typically focus only on clinical state at presentation and ultimate outcome, analogous to drawing a line between two points. We generated a low-dimensional interpretable latent space model of clinical states in patients with severe pneumonia. We show that transitions between these clinical states are different in patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and other types of pneumonia. By projecti

Key facts

NIH application ID
11248060
Project number
5U19AI135964-09
Recipient
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
LUIS A. Nunes AMARAL
Activity code
U19
Funding institute
AI
Fiscal year
2026
Award amount
$344,151
Award type
5
Project period
2018-01-17T00:00:00 → 2027-12-31T00:00:00