Computational Models for Clinical Applications in Personalized Medicine—Guidelines and Recommendations for Data Integration and Model Validation

Journal of Personalized Medicine, vol. 12, pp. 166

Abstract

The future development of personalized medicine depends on a vast exchange of data from different sources, as well as harmonized integrative analysis of large-scale clinical health and sample data. Computational-modelling approaches play a key role in the analysis of the underlying molecular processes and pathways that characterize human biology, but they also lead to a more profound understanding of the mechanisms and factors that drive diseases; hence, they allow personalized treatment strategies that are guided by central clinical questions. However, despite the growing popularity of computational-modelling approaches in different stakeholder communities, there are still many hurdles to overcome for their clinical routine implementation in the future. Especially the integration of heterogeneous data from multiple sources and types are challenging tasks that require clear guidelines that also have to comply with high ethical and legal standards. Here, we discuss the most relevant computational models for personalized medicine in detail that can be considered as best-practice guidelines for application in clinical care. We define specific challenges and provide applicable guidelines and recommendations for study design, data acquisition, and operation as well as for model validation and clinical translation and other research areas.

Authors 10

1. Catherine Bjerre Collin

   University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation

   Affiliation as printed

   Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 N Copenhagen, Denmark

2. Tom Gebhardt

   University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany

3. Martin Golebiewski

   Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies gGmbH, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany

4. Tugce Karaderi

   University of Copenhagen · Novo Nordisk Foundation

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Health Data Science, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 N Copenhagen, Denmark

   Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 N Copenhagen, Denmark

5. Maximilian Hillemanns

   University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany

6. Faiz M. Khan

   University of Rostock

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Rostock, 18057 Rostock, Germany

7. Ali Salehzadeh‐Yazdi

   Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences

   Affiliation as printed

   Max-Planck-Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

8. Marc W. Kirschner

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Projektträger Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Project Management Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

9. Sylvia Krobitsch

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Projektträger Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Project Management Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

10. Lars Kuepfer corresponding Aachen Institute for Systems Medicine with Focus on Organ Interaction

    Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Systems Medicine with Focus on Organ Interaction, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany