Computers and mathematics are forging a new revolution in biology and medicine. These fields are providing insights that would be near-impossible to deduce from traditional scientific approaches. The future is indeed very bright for curing some of the most devastating human diseases.
NeuroTexas Institute is developing the first computational neuroscience research center in Central Texas. The Center for Computational Neuroscience will be developing a wide range of computational tools to improve our understanding of diseases and disorders, and improve the quality of care provided to neurological patients.
The Center is actively involved in developing a database system to capture detailed clinical pictures of patients undergoing a wide range of brain and spine treatments. The hope is to offer safer and more effective care for these patients.
We are collaborating with research teams at the University of Texas to create new statistical methods to increase the power of genome-wide association studies. The first disease on which our models are being tested is autism, a neurological disorder that affects about 6 in every 1,000 children. This collaboration promises to greatly expand our understanding about autism genetics, and the methods developed are expected to be applicable to other diseases.
Our teams are also working to advance our understanding about the genetics of glioblastoma, the most common type of brain tumor. Using data recently produced by the National Cancer Institute, our researchers are measuring the rate that genetic changes (mutations) are accumulating in the glioblastoma tissue. Mutations are fundamental to the progression of these tumors, and determining which genes are changing the fastest will be a significant step towards new, and hopefully better, therapies.