Focus Period Lund 2022

Data-driven modelling and learning for cancer immunotherapy

April 19 – May 20, 2022

For 5 weeks, in the prestigious university town Lund, the focus period will unite young international scholars, ELLIIT researchers and other top international academics active in domains such as systems biology, cancer treatment, machine learning and dynamical systems.

An ELLIIT perspective on cancer therapy – read the scientific abstract for this focus period

Checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a form of cancer treatment that targets checkpoints that regulate the immune system. It works tremendously well in approximately 30 % of subjects, while being largely ineffective in others. Understanding when and why the therapy works or does not work has large implications on the treatment of cancer.

Currently, several research paths are being pursued in search for an answer. With biometric data from patients as well as healthy individuals becoming increasingly available, deep learning and other statistical approaches are applied to this data to find features that correlate with therapeutic outcome. In contrast to this, systems biological approaches try to devise knowledge-based “bottom up” models using single cell data.

The aim of this focus period is to bring together leading “domain” researchers representing the aforementioned directions with leading “method” researchers within machine learning and dynamical systems to initiate new collaborations focusing on research with elements from both domains, that both use and drive the development of novel machine learning techniques.

Workshop May 4-6, 2022

Reflections from the ELLIIT Focus Period in Lund 2022

Scientific committee

The scientific committee consists of internationally renowned researchers, active within the topic of the focus period. The committee members, in collaboration with the organizers, suggest speakers for the workshop, and visiting scholars for the focus periods. The members of the scientific committee also contribute to the event as speakers during the workshop.

Ira Mellman

Ira Mellman

Vice President of Cancer Immunology at Genentech, USA

Chris Rackauckas

Chris Rackauckas

Research Affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Organizing committee

The organizing committee consists of researchers from the ELLIIT institutions and administrators. Their role is to appoint the scientific committee, select speakers and visiting scholars, plan the focus period activities, and serve as hosts during the event.

Sonja Aits

Sonja Aits

Associate senior lecturer at Lund University

Eva Westin

Eva Westin

Focus Period Coordinator, Lund University, Sweden

On-site contact persons

Eva Westin
+46 46 222 87 87
eva.westin@control.lth.se