Why Spatial Biology?
Realism and relevance are why spatial biology is gaining attention. For scientists and clinicians to demystify disease they’ll need better tools and techniques. Spatial biology is the door to improved understanding of cellular interactions, better drug research and more promising therapeutics.
Here’s what key opinion leaders in spatial biology have to say:
What if we could understand the biological mechanisms underlying disease and the treatments of disease?
The spatial capabilities of these new technologies offer researchers the potential to understand the biological mechanisms underlying cellular and protein interactions.
Looking at the immune cell infiltration and migration patterns in three-dimensional space would be really informative to disease progression.
What if you could phenotype cells in three dimensions?
Imagine every researcher had at their disposal a clear understanding of the immunogenic response for a given therapeutic.
I think the best spot for these tools right now is probably in Phase 2 trials, trying to understand why you had some super responders and rapid progressors. Really clarify your hypothesis on why the drug is working, mechanism of action.
How can spatial biology impact clinical trials development?
What if researchers didn’t have to fly blind in clinical trial design?
One of the most interesting things of the paper other than the conclusion and the results is they did a post-mortem. They said, okay, of the top predictive factors, which ones were spatial? It turns out that 17 of the top 20 predictive features of the tissue were actually spatial. So it just shows the value of spatial, right? You can see things you can’t see in other contexts.
What if we could understand the biological mechanisms underlying disease and the treatments of disease?
Data collected by DeciBio shows that multiplex spatial analysis is being adopted for clinical research across a broad range of oncology indications. Pharma companies recognize the utility of multiplex tissue analysis, and potentially the diagnostic and prognostic value of these assays with spatial context.
It’s a brave new world and there is a lot of space to put a flag on, to tag-team, to compete or collaborate. The latter is the most important. Currently the field needs open collaboration, coordination for standardization, and everyone to come together to enable it to realize its potential. There is a lot of space for everyone.
Why does spatial biology matter to you?
Hats Off to the Innovators Advancing Spatial Biology
