Elana Fertig, PhD

Major PhysiCell paper in Cell using a new, intuitive model grammar to create complex multicellular systems models with "plain language" cell hypotheses! 🧪

@cellpress.bsky.social @cp-cell.bsky.social @mathcancer.bsky.social @fertiglab.bsky.social #mathonco #mathbio #abm #opensource

Excited for this @cp-cell.bsky.social article co-led by @fertiglab.bsky.social and Genevieve Stein-O'Brien, on creating a plain language "grammar" to easily write simulation models as virtual laboratories for complex systems like cancer.

Fully open access and open source! 🧪 #mathonco #mathbio

Human interpretable grammar encodes multicellular systems biology models to democratize virtual cell laboratories We developed a plain text modeling language—a cell behavior hypothesis grammar—to easily build virtual cell models and connect them to data, helping scientists to unlock the hidden dynamics of tissues...

Really excited to share our new @cellpress.bsky.social Cell paper with @fertiglab.bsky.social and colleagues. 1/n

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

@jktgfoundation.bsky.social @itcrtraining.bsky.social @smbmathbiology.bsky.social #mathbio #mathonco @mathonco.bsky.social @deniswirtz.bsky.social

#AACR25 #AACR2025 @theaacr.bsky.social following the plenary session, at 10:15 in S105, we will showcase possible means to preventing cancer onset by intercepting its #TME
@fertiglab.bsky.social
#BarbaraVanderhyden and yours truly

Researchers at UMSOM are pioneering a new approach to precision medicine by combining AI with mathematical modeling.🌟🔬

@fertiglab.bsky.social and @genomescience.bsky.social
colleagues share the importance of ethically sharing health data to ensure reproducible and trustworthy scientific outcomes.

Join our lab to study transcriptional regulation in mouse germ cells and embryonic stem cells at @haskoliislands.bsky.social in beautiful Reykjavík!
Apply here: tinyurl.com/34y6jcrd
#epigenetics #TranscriptionFactors #transcriptomics #stemCells #pluripotency

I can't understand why foundation models are thought to be the source of "virtual cells". AI and foundation models are good for many things, but they seem far more likely to predict cell labels or phenotypic effects of perturbations than to trace cells in systems virtually.

Call it what it is: a race/ gender purge.

Virtual cells for predictive immunotherapy - @fertiglab.bsky.social @genomescience.bsky.social go.nature.com/4jfqM3Y

Proud of our new perspective describing the role of mathematical biology for immunotherapy www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natbiotech.nature.com

Any mamma of a kid with autism knows exactly where a quick claim of its cause / blame will go…..

Omg!!!! So proud of my baby cousin!!!!!!

Unexpected treat today @moffittnews.bsky.social Innovator's of Tomorrow symposium with Jeanette Johnson, working with @fertiglab.bsky.social and developing on @physicell.bsky.social to create an #ABM for #pancreatic #cancer forecasting

So good to see you Rob!! Exited to be at the same institution again :)

as I tell my Genetics class every year, this breakthrough is based on 70 years of NIH-funded, basic research, commercialized by biotech
bsky.app/profile/need...

Homecoming seminar @ummedschool.bsky.social

Thank you to the #EACR!

Cancer knows no borders, and setbacks in one part of the world can have lasting consequences for #patients everywhere

The #EACR, and all co-signing national #cancer societies & foundations, stand in solidarity and offer our full support to our friends and colleagues in the US

#StandUpForScience 🧪

Cleveland on the Ukraine invasion anniversary

I am ashamed to be an American today.

I stand with Ukraine.

I stand with Canada.

I stand with Panama.

I stand with Greenland.

I stand with Europe.

My kids thoughts and our hearts to everyone at NOAA @benfertig.bsky.social

🧬 We Want Your Feedback! 🧬\

Do you use variant annotation software? We’re gathering insights from the genomics community to improve OpenCRAVAT and understand what features matter most to you.💡 Take this quick survey (it takes less than 2 minutes!): https://shorturl.at/iOvMt

Heatbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking

What is the main bottleneck in deriving biological understanding from spatial transcriptomic profiling? Image-based approaches to single-cell transcriptomics offer the exciting ability to directly image gene expression at the transcriptome scale within intact tissue slices, defining, discovering, and ma...

We asked J. Moffitt, M. Li, Q., K. Kanemaru, S. Teichmann, D. Dar, S. Itzkovitz, R. Vento-Tormo, @ltkagohara.bsky.social @itaiyanai.bsky.social @fertiglab.bsky.social @fabiantheis.bsky.social about bottlenecks facing Spatial Transcriptomics www.cell.com/cell-systems/abstract/S2405-4712(25)00033-X

Karchin Lab at Johns Hopkins is excited to announce a postdoctoral position focused on developing innovative methods in computational immuno-oncology. Great opportunity if you are passionate about advancing cancer immunotherapy and bioinformatics. Learn more/apply: karchinlab.org/join-us/

Contributions from: Jeffrey Moffitt, @drmingyaoli.bsky.social, Qing Nie, Kazumasa Kanemaru, Sarah Teichmann, Daniel Dar, @ltkagohara.bsky.social, Shalev Itzkovitz, Roser Vento-Tormo, @fertiglab.bsky.social, @fabiantheis.bsky.social

Federal Court Extends Block on NIH Funding Cuts NIH’s plan to reduce indirect funds faced immense backlash from researchers. A federal judge ruled to extend the halt to cuts until a final decision is made.

Today Federal Court Extends block on NIH Indirect cost cuts but final decision date unknown. The bigger problem is the Federal Register blackout, no scientific review/council meetings means no new research awards can be released from now on. 🧪 #AcademicSky www.the-scientist.com/federal-cour...

List of Science impacts: one month of Trump 2.0 20 January: Trump’s Day 1 executive orders 21 January: NIH activities suspended 27 January: Freeze on all federal grants 31 January: CDC databases disappear and papers are censored 2 February: NSF unfreezes funds, scrutinizes grants 6 February: Global health efforts imperiled 7 February: Cuts to NIH research overhead funding announced 14 February: Layoffs at US science agencies begin

A truly depressing article in #Nature listing of all the damage done to #science in the US by the Trump administration in just one month

💔 for so many friends and colleagues there

#solidarityforscience 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Thx for the support!