Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Integration to define new macrophage/immune targets
This project is conducted as part of the mac4me consortium, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), which aims to decode the interactions between macrophages and tumor cells across breast, prostate, and neuroblastoma cancers to discover novel immune targets for immunotherapy. Given the limited effectiveness of current T cell–focused immunotherapies in these cancers, due to their immunosuppressive micro-environments, the project leverages single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to characterize the tumor micro-environment at high resolution. Using advanced machine learning and explainable AI models, the project will identify key cell populations (macrophages, T cells, cancer cells) in the tumor micro-environment, and elucidate tumor-macrophage interactions to define the new immune targets. The medical goal is to develop predictive tools and therapeutic insights that improve the efficacy of immunotherapies in hard-to-treat metastatic cancers.
