New datasets available on the NF Data Portal
The Synodos for NF2 project, led by Drs. Wade Clapp, James Gusella, Scott Plotkin, and Jaishri Blakeley, recently had its final data release. There are several new publicly available ‘omic and drug screening datasets from NF2 tumor models, including single-agent and combination high-throughput drug screening, gene expression, and kinomics data. Also, Dr. Raymond Mattingly, of Wayne State University, and colleagues recently released work on the NF Data Portal, showcasing their efforts to develop 3-D cultures of plexiform neurofibroma tumors. This approach adds a new dimension to previous drug screening efforts, which have generally been constrained to 2-D cell culture methods. In addition to the data release, the publication accompanying this work was recently published in Experimental Neurology. Want to add your project and data to the NF Data Portal? Email us at nf-osi@sagebionetworks.org.
Collaborative NF Research Event September 13-15 in San Francisco
The Children’s Tumor Foundation, Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program, Sage Bionetworks, and Silicon Valley AI are excited to announce the second NF collaborative research event in San Francisco on September 13-15, 2019, one week prior to the 2019 CTF Patient Forum and NF Conference. Following in the footsteps of the successful NF2 hackathon (https://sv.ai/hackathon), the 2019 event will focus on analyzing diverse datasets, including genomic, drug screening, drug-target association, imaging, and other data for NF1 and NF2. We’ll have more info and registration information coming soon, so stay tuned!
Research funding highlight: NF2 Accelerator Initiative
The Children’s Tumor Foundation seeks applicants for the NF2 Accelerator Initiative to support exploratory and developmental research projects involving secondary data analysis of the Synodos for NF2 dataset, and selection of the next active drug or combination of drugs to be included as the next candidate in the ongoing NF2 platform trial. Read the full RFA here – LOIs for the NF2 Clinical Pipeline RFA are due July 1!
