AI for the Design of Regulatory DNA-elements in Cancer

About

The team led by Professors Helene Kretzmer (HPI) and Leonid Mirny (MIT) will build a deep learning model to explore the chromatin structure and epigenetic code of healthy and cancer cells. In some cancers, transcription factors—proteins that bind to DNA—can fuse together, giving rise to atypical DNA-binding sites and forming novel enhancers that drive disease-specific gene activity. The team will build and train an AI model to learn the differences between healthy and cancer cells, and will leverage this model to design novel DNA sequences that are only active in specific cancer cells. These sequences will then be tested experimentally. The ultimate vision is that this work will form the basis for selective and sustainable cancer-specific therapies in the future.