Aedín Culhane
Professor of Cancer Genomics and Director of the Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre
An Irish research centre is spearheading a collaborative approach to data science, ushering in a data-enabled cancer research revolution to transform cancer research and improve cancer care outcomes.
Across Ireland, approximately 45,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed every year, a number which is steadily increasing due to an ageing population. As cancer incidence rises, the need for more effective and precise treatment modalities has reached a critical level. Advances in modern cancer medicine are driven by data. It is integral to every aspect of cancer care, from informing diagnosis and treatment to enabling research and shaping health policies. The rapidly expanding Limerick Digital Cancer Research Centre (LDCRC) is at the forefront of leveraging data to drive innovation in cancer research.
Collaborative data science
In collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast, LDCRC researchers are demonstrating the importance of an ‘all-island’ approach to sharing data, harnessing the integration of diverse data sets to improve patient outcomes. The All-Island eHealth Hub for Cancer initiative is developing software and frameworks to harmonise, unify and connect clinical data. The initiative is pooling together data and current knowledge to enhance understanding of cancer patterns, leading to more targeted, tailored, innovative solutions in cancer care and future benefits from AI-assisted clinical decision support tools.
This collaborative spirit underscores the LDCRC’s commitment to utilising data not just for local advancement but for broader, more inclusive, health solutions.
As cancer incidence rises, the need for more effective and precise treatment modalities has reached a critical level.
Zooming in on cancer
Established in 2021 with the goal of using data to improve our understanding of cancer biology and find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease, the LDCRC have brought regional cancer centres together with biologists, computer scientists, technologists, engineers, statisticians, data scientists, and experts in genetic, genomics and bioinformatics.
The Centre is advancing diagnostic precision using digital pathology at the single-cell level to ‘zoom in’ on cancer and accurately identify and quantify individual cells in cancer. Professor Paul Murray and his lab are using high-powered microscopy and artificial intelligence to digitally profile cancerous tissues.
Bioinformatics analyses complex biological data
Such data requires expert data analysis. Bioinformatics — the intersection of biology, computer science and statistics — is the analysis of such data and is at the heart of the research centre’s mission. Enabling researchers to decode complex biological data and driving groundbreaking insights into disease mechanisms and treatment, bioinformatics is a rapidly growing field. The LDCRC are ensuring that Ireland remains at the forefront of global bioinformatics innovation.
With substantial support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Dr Maria Doyle and Professor Aedín Culhane are spearheading efforts to expand bioinformatics expertise globally. They are leaders in the Bioconductor project, an open-source software project that provides tools for analysing genomic data. Used by hundreds of thousands of researchers worldwide, Bioconductor equips scientists with the tools and knowledge needed to analyse genomic data. Professor Culhane states: “Our goal is to share knowledge and skills to empower researchers worldwide to tackle big health challenges.”
Find out more at ul.ie/limerick-dcrc
