Stage 02 · AVATAR Discovery Process

Investigate the biology.

What happens when candidate therapies are investigated in a biological model? Biological screening asks how candidate drugs affect a living fruit fly engineered to carry selected tumour-associated mutations.

The biological avatar

Selected mutations guide the model

Diamonds mark the mutations chosen to build the model — the drivers of this tumour, carried into a living system.

01
Selected tumour mutations
Mutations found by genomic analysis guide the design of the model.
02
Engineered fruit-fly model
Chosen mutations are introduced into the fly genome to study selected aspects of the tumour's biology.
03
Drug screening
Candidate drugs and combinations are tested for measurable outcomes.
04
Experimental observations
Responses are recorded, with their limits kept for review.

Model selection

How computational findings inform the model

The genomic interpretation identifies tumour-associated mutations. A selection of them — guides which alterations are engineered into the model. The model is therefore a hypothesis about which parts of the tumour's biology matter, built to be tested.

Selection criteria, the number of mutations modelled and the engineering approach are defined for each study.

Stage summary

Inputs, output and boundaries

Model · AVATAR Discovery Process

Mutation selection and model design

Experimental model observationInvestigational candidate

What happens: Selected tumour-associated mutations, found by the genomic analysis, guide the design of an engineered Drosophila melanogaster model. The chosen mutations are introduced into the fly genome to study selected aspects of the tumour's biology.
Inputs: Mutations selected from the genomic interpretation.
Intended output: An engineered fruit-fly model carrying the selected alterations.
What it establishes: A living experimental system in which selected aspects of the tumour's biology can be investigated.
Why it matters: The tumour's own drivers, studied in a living system rather than in silico alone.

Next: candidate-drug screening.

Candidate-drug screening Scientific rationale