A new framework to efficiently screen drugs
Oct 22, 2024
Novel method to scale phenotypic drug screening drastically reduces the number of input samples, costs, and labor required to execute a screen. Read the full article on MIT News.
The Shalek Lab develops and applies broadly applicable experimental and computational platforms to understand and engineer immune responses in tissues. We employ a comprehensive, five-step approach, building innovative methodologies and leveraging them with partners around the world to facilitate deeper, more mechanistic inquiry into how cells drive tissue-level behaviors across the spectrum of human health and disease.
High-throughput phenotypic screens using biochemical perturbations and high-content readouts are constrained by limitations of scale. To address this, we establish a method of pooling exogenous perturbations followed by computational deconvolution to reduce required sample size, labor and cost. We demonstrate the increased efficiency of compressed experimental designs compared to conventional approaches through benchmarking with a bioactive small-molecule library and a high-content imaging readout.
Th1 CD4+ T cells mediate protective antiMtb immunity across biological systems and organisms. Bromley, Ganchua, et al. demonstrate that CD4+ T cells regulate immune tone in TB granulomas and are necessary for immune recall and protection against reinfection. Following reinfection, CD4+ T cells facilitate the development of a growth restrictive niche via the induction of immuno-modulatory genes and cellular interaction networks.
Recent case reports and epidemiological data suggest that fungal infections represent an underappreciated complication among people with severe COVID-19. However, the frequency of fungal colonization in patients with COVID-19 and associations with specific immune responses in the airways remain incompletely defined.
Oct 22, 2024
Novel method to scale phenotypic drug screening drastically reduces the number of input samples, costs, and labor required to execute a screen. Read the full article on MIT News.
Sep 16, 2024
Learn more about this collaborative work featuring Alex Shalek and a discovery that yields a potent immune response, which could be used to develop a potential tumor vaccine.
May 24, 2024
Hear Alex talk about “Reducing Barriers Through Open Data” on the Lab Coats and Life Podcast.