Rebels Review

“Fingerprinting” Tumors to Enhance Cancer Diagnostics Shaping the Next Generation of Scientific Minds or us humans to become world-class experts in a workaround allowed the team to develop the algorithm using ransforming medicine involves thinking beyond the given field, it’s estimated we require about 10,000 hours unannotated pathology images, which are much more readily here-and-now. Sparking lasting change requires of practice. A similar rule goes for machine learning available than their annotated counterparts. passing the scientific torch to future generations, and we algorithms, though they ideally need to “practice” by analyzing Once the algorithm had familiarized itself with variations innovate more intelligently if we learn from the history upon millionsF of data examples before they can recognize meaningful T in breast cancer tissue architecture, the team then asked it to which current medicine was built. For these reasons, the new relationships in the data with consistency and high confidence. employ its ability to pair “same” with “different” to learn which of Ellison Institute building integrates today’s cutting-edge Developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to diagnose those known patterns correlated to a particular diagnosis. For a technologies with testaments to their historical antecedents, cancer is challenging because high-quality, clinically annotated human equivalent, it would be like familiarizing yourself with the woven together with the thread of education and a vested interest in shaping the scientific minds of the future. datasets of a sufficient size are all but impossible to come by in faces of many members of a family and then learning that they Summer 2020 cancer pathology. Researchers typically only have access to a few were called “the Smiths.” The Ellison Institute team’s two-step As part of our Education and Outreach Program, the A section of the Ellison Institute’s History of Medicine Gallery. thousand pathology slides annotated with correct diagnoses––and approach to training the algorithm enabled it to accurately assign Ellison Institute has trained a select group of USC students this data deficit can stymie scientific progress. diagnostic categories to tumor images with an unprecedented and high schoolers from the nearby Wildwood School to lead into the intricacies of cancer research and medical technologies. Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Researchers at the Ellison Institute (EI) have recently devised level of accuracy for a technology of its kind. building tours and educate guests on the past, present and future of In the future, we hope to expand our educational presence in From the Desk of David B. Agus, M.D. the community by hosting guest speakers from academia and Doctor’s Notes Transformative Medicine of USC a clever workaround to this problem, enabling them to train a medicine. The tours will start with our History of Medicine high-confidence predictive algorithm using less than 1,000 breast Gallery, where medical artifacts and fossils dating back millions of industry, screening documentaries and conducting classes on years are juxtaposed with T1V interactive touch screens that teach wellness and nutrition. cancer pathology slides paired with correct diagnoses. It involves Dear Friends, challenge our assumptions about cancer, we stand firmer a two-step process of priming the algorithm to identify unique visitors about the gallery’s contents. Some of our antiquities are The Ellison Institute has partnered with the than ever in our dedication to uniting bright minds across patterns in cancerous tissue before teaching it what those patterns originals or replicas we own, and others are on loan from history transdisciplinary, forward-thinking USC Iovine and Young The past few months have brought mean in terms of diagnostics. Ellison Institute scientists Rishi museums and organizations around the world. As visitors move Academy to engage their undergraduate students in designing with them many unprecedented disciplines to collaboratively enhance medicine. Rawat, PhD, Dan Ruderman, PhD, Itzel Ortega, Preeyam Roy through the gallery, our tour guides will educate them on early wearable technology for our team members to bring our changes, and times like these shed light and David Agus, MD, along with EI member Fei Sha, PhD, techniques of practicing medicine, major scientific breakthroughs “smart” building to life. The students have designed a sleek wrist on the amount of adaptability and “I could not be prouder of the way our Ellison Institute and USC collaborator Darryl Shibata, MD, published their Ellison Institute researchers have developed a method of “fingerprinting” breast cancer and how the Ellison Institute is currently building upon those band (the Ellison Band) to monitor movement throughout the dedication a team possesses. I could team has collectively stepped up to continue to push tissue samples to identify unique features in the cellular architecture and enhance precision discoveries to advance 21st century medicine. technique in Scientific Reports in April. They were able to achieve diagnostics. The left image shows a portion of a stained breast cancer pathology slide building, which will enable us to encourage team members to not be prouder of the way our Ellison forward in our mission while adjusting to this containing thousands of cells; the right features a heat map of structural patterns, generated Institute team has collectively stepped unprecedented diagnostic accuracy for an algorithm of this type As the tour progresses, visitors will have the opportunity to look interact with the building and each other in ways that facilitate -David Agus, M.D. and purpose, and their achievement signals a giant step forward by a machine learning algorithm, with red regions representing those whose patterns are within our glass-walled laboratories and learn about the cancer interdisciplinary collaboration. We hope to continue working with up to continue to push forward in our new normal.” most unique to the individual patient. in medical machine learning. research conducted before their eyes. Guests will be acquainted Academy students to continue developing innovative, health- mission while adjusting to this new “With clinically annotated pathology data in short supply, we with art dispersed throughout our building, and as they move oriented technologies to solve problems through scientific, normal. Our clinical staff have remained diligent in their By the time you read this letter, we will be moving into our The first step in their process relies on the fact that no two new facility at 12414 Exposition Boulevard on the Westside patients’ tumors are identical. Just as our fingerprints are unique must use it wisely. Our work leveraged abundant unannotated through our collaborative workspaces they will see and hear entrepreneurial and creative lenses. commitment to caring for patients with active cancers. Our data to find a reduced set of tumor features that can represent interdisciplinary, innovative scientific discussions evolving in real researchers have maximized their time outside the lab to and embarking on a new chapter for the Ellison Institute. This and can identify us as individuals, tumors also have their own “Our Education & Outreach Program is so important to us paradigm-shifting model of integrated patient care, research structural “fingerprints” that distinguish them from other unique biology,” Ruderman said. “Building classifiers upon the time. At the end of each tour, our guides will host interactive here at the Ellison Institute because we want to inspire the next publish papers, apply for grants and lay the groundwork for biology that these features represent enables us to efficiently focus talks covering topics ranging from the basics of cancer biology to promising collaborations with like-minded scientists around and wellness under one roof will fundamentally change the way patients’ tissue samples. These fingerprints are the result of growth generation of scientists and share our resources, research and our clinicians, scientists and researchers interact and learn from patterns and biological variations, such as the presence of signaling the precious annotated data on clinical aspects.” the applications of big data and evolving research technologies experiences with the community,” said Jillian Infusino, MPH, the world. The Ellison Institute’s leadership––under the each other in the fight against cancer. By bringing us together molecules and receptors, that influence the 3D organization of a By correlating a tumor’s architectural pattern with a in the field of oncology. CHES, our Education and Outreach Specialist at the Ellison guidance of our new chief strategy officer, Dr. Anna and facilitating transdisciplinary science, this building will tumor and appear as minute structural differences on pathology correct diagnosis, the algorithm can ultimately help clinicians In addition to offering tours to patients, students and Institute. “We want to inspire people of all ages to think critically, Barker, whom you will read more about in this newsletter––has slides. The human eye cannot reliably track these variations, but determine if that tumor will respond to a given treatment. Breast community members, we will begin hosting four-part weekly encourage them to make healthier choices and get them thinking leveraged this time to convene virtually to optimize our path serve as a catalyst to accelerate progress and transform cancer computer algorithms now can. tumors that express a molecule called estrogen receptor, for educational sessions for high school STEM clubs that dive deeper about health and wellness in different ways.” forward as we continue working to deliver transformative treatment as we know it. “If you train a computer to reproduce what a person example, look unique at the cellular level and fall into their own innovations to patients. This new facility is a daring dream come true, and I am diagnostic category because they typically respond to knows how to do, it’s never going to get far beyond human We have also been involved in the national response honored and humbled by your dedication to helping us see anti-estrogen therapies. Currently, pathologists use performance. If you train it on a task ten times harder than anything Ellison Institute Researchers Receive NIH Funding to Develop Acoustic Tweezers to COVID-19, notably by working with Oracle on a this vision to fruition. As always, I deeply appreciate your a person could do, then you give it a chance to go beyond human chemical stains to probe biopsy samples for the presence of the he National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded of trapping living tissue and multicellular structures without support for the Ellison Institute as we push forward with life- estrogen receptor to make that diagnosis, but the process is over $1.3 million in Research Project (R01) grant funding causing a temperature increase that damages the tissue. At the COVID-19 Therapeutic Monitoring System. The online tool capability,” Rawat said. “Human beings are not hardwired to collects real-world data on doctors’ treatment choices and saving research. Each of your contributions makes our institute recognize patterns of cells on pathology slides. We’re social time-consuming, expensive and variable depending on where to Ellison Institute Research Director Mitchell Gross, Ellison Institute, Gross will deploy this technology to study the stronger collectively, and we are so grateful that you continue it’s done. Though the Ellison Institute’s algorithm is not meant MD, PhD, EI affiliate Scott Fraser, PhD, and primary investigator structure and biophysical properties of three-dimensional human resulting outcomes for COVID-19 patients, and it in turn animals. We’re hardwired to recognize faces. A person can look T enables other clinicians to make data-driven decisions to to be part of this journey with us. I look forward to all the to replace skilled pathologists, it can enhance and streamline Eun Sok Kim, PhD, of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. cancer models. “Cancer cells are most dangerous when they are through a crowd of a thousand people and instantly recognize increase their patients’ chances of recovery. I have had the groundbreaking work that is to come in our new building, and a face. With tissue fingerprinting, we can train a computer to their work by directly analyzing tumor images to diagnose Over a span of four years, the grant will support the develop- organized in groups to form tumors,” Gross said. “We hope to I cannot wait to welcome you all there and step forward into a them as “estrogen receptor positive” without targeted estrogen ment of an acoustic tweezer device, which utilizes sound waves use this device to study how this three-dimensional structure privilege of appearing regularly on CBS News, the Howard look through thousands of tumor images and recognize the Stern Show and other media platforms to educate the public new era of cancer care together. visual features of an individual tumor. Through training, we have receptor staining. to move and manipulate living tissue. The technology is similar influences critical events such as tumor growth, metastatic spread, on the evolving pandemic, and I collaborated with Facebook, essentially evolved a computer eye that’s optimized to look at This technology’s applications could one day reach far and wide to that of optical tweezers, though acoustic tweezers are capable and therapy resistance.” With respect, cancer patterns.” by enhancing diagnostics in medically underserved regions and CBS This Morning and TIME to host weekly COVID-19 Join the fight against cancer! Question & Answer sessions on Facebook Live. The To develop this “computer eye,” the Ellison Institute research developing nations that lack expert pathologists and the labora- Each gift matters in the fight against cancer. By supporting our disruptive, multidisciplinary research you will help change the face of cancer treatment and significantly Ellison team has worked together to help share team took digital pathology images of breast cancers, split them tory infrastructure to stain for molecular markers. benefit the lives of those battling cancer today. Simply fill out the enclosed envelope to donate to the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC evidence-based health information during this pandemic, and in half and prompted a machine learning algorithm to pair “It is really amazing to me that there is so much information in David B. Agus, M.D. or visit our website now! ellison.usc.edu/donors Contact Katrina Barron at 310-601-3352 or [email protected] for more information. in doing so we have had the opportunity to think deeply about them back together solely by recognizing patterns of cells and the cancer specimens, through patterns and the architecture of the our commitment to providing thought leadership in Professor of Medicine and Engineering other tissue components that create a unique “fingerprint.” The tissue, that the human brain hasn’t yet been able to identify,” Agus the biomedical space. Whether it be as broad as Founding Director and CEO algorithm was thereby able to practice grouping “same” and said. “Computing power and AI are unleashing this information Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC communicating with the public through the media or as Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine “different” pathology slides without involving diagnoses. This and it’s leading to better cancer care. Such an exciting time!” Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for 12414 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064 targeted as hosting Visiting Scholars at the new building to University of Southern California Transformative Medicine of USC Tel: (310) 228-6400 Fax: (310) 272-7656 ellison.usc.edu 5 6 Anna Barker, PhD, joins the Ellison Institute as Chief Strategy Officer Art to Complement the Science of Healing e are proud and excited to share that we recently Systems––Biomedicine he Ellison Institute is fortunate to house incredible artworks that breathe life into our new building and transform it Elephant by Jeff Koons––This 12.5-foot magenta elephant is part of Koons’ welcomed Anna Barker, PhD, to the role of Chief (CAS) and professor of into a healing space. We are grateful to our patrons who have donated and loaned these beautiful pieces. Here are a few Celebration series, spanning from the late 1990s to early 2000s, and stands Strategy Officer at the Ellison Institute. Dr. Barker’s practice, School of Life highlights from the building’s diverse collection. We can’t wait for you to experience the entirety of our artworks in person! outdoors on the third-floor patio. Its high chromium stainless steel body with talentW for uniting scientists across disciplines to tackle complex Sciences at Arizona State T transparent color coating reflects the sunlight and the world around it, adding problems and her track record as a talented leader in the global University (ASU). In these vibrance and a pop of color to our otherwise naturalistic, earth-toned building. HOPE by Robert Indiana––Our 3,000 pound, corten steel HOPE statue is located scientific community makes her an invaluable addition to roles, she designed and This lighthearted, bold piece also holds oncological significance–elephants rarely at the heart of our building because hope is at the core of our mission at the Ellison our institute. implemented “knowledge get cancer. Humans have one copy of a gene called p53, known as the guardian of Institute. The reason we set out to establish a new paradigm in cancer research and network” models that the genome, which protects against cancer; elephants have 20 copies. Our hope “It is a privilege to have Dr. Barker join our team at the care, and the reason we keep pushing forward day in and day out to question our address diseases such is that we can learn from other species like elephants to understand what works Institute. The tremendous work and impact she has made assumptions, adapt our science and break new ground, is that we fundamentally as cancer as complex in the protection against cancer and potentially translate that understanding in developing large-scale strategic programs focused on believe that a better future for cancer patients is attainable. We hope for a future adaptive systems. These to human systems to enhance cancer treatment. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) interdisciplinary science and transformative medicine is in which cancer patients live longer, healthier lives, and the HOPE statue serves fundamental to how we approach the treatment of cancer systems approaches have been employed to create as a physical embodiment of that motivation. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) differently,” saidDavid B. Agus, M.D. “Convergent science is the Untitled (2013) by Laura Owens––American innovative solutions in cornerstone of the Ellison Institute, and Dr. Barker’s ability to painter Laura Owens, who emerged into the Los areas such as biomarker LOVE by Robert Indiana––The LOVE bring together some of the best and brightest minds to advance Angeles art scene in the 1990s, is known for her discovery and development, statue, a colorful relative and predecessor precision medicine will be an incredible asset to the work we pioneering and experimental art that challenges new clinical trial designs, of the HOPE statue, is housed indoors on accomplish here.” conventions of figuration and abstraction. She and the use of big data Dr. Anna Barker the third floor of our building. Since its Previously, Barker served as the principal deputy director often defies traditional assumptions about and artificial intelligence first appearance in 1958, Indiana’s “LOVE” of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and deputy director painting and mixes techniques and tools to in precision medicine. As a result of her efforts, she led the motif has become an iconic representation for strategic scientific initiatives. In these roles she led the create daring, bold and experiential pieces. development of the biomarker and clinical trials sections of of American pop art and its variations have development of foundational platforms and national st Her art is full of movement, and it possesses a the 21 Century Cures Act. Barker will maintain a courtesy graced everything from Museum of Modern programs to support the emerging concept of precision quality of demanding to be viewed. This acrylic, appointment as a distinguished visiting fellow at ASU in Art Christmas cards to U.S. postal stamps. medicine. During her tenure at the NCI, she collaboratively oil, resin and charcoal on linen painting is part Complex Adaptive Systems. This polychrome aluminum, word-as-a-form-of-art sculpture is located on one of planned and implemented a number of strategic convergence of a series of 12 large-scale paintings originally our research floors and serves as a reminder of the humanity that is at the heart programs that emphasized innovation, networks of global “I am excited to have joined Dr. Agus and the Ellison Institute displayed at her Los Angeles-based exhibition of all we do in cancer research and treatment. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) institutions, team science and publicly available data. team, and pleased that even in the COVID-19 pandemic, our 356 Mission in 2013. (Meir Teper Collection) team is working virtually to create transformative strategies and Initiatives and programs under Barker’s leadership programs to achieve our vision,” Barker said. “We are uniquely include: The Cancer Genome Atlas, co-developed with the positioned to achieve convergence of the biomedical and physical Iron Tree Trunk by Ai Weiwei––Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei National Human Genome Research Institute and the “I’m inspired and motivated by the Ellison Institute’s collaborative sciences in ways that promise to transform our understanding culture and dedication to approaching cancer and wellness from is widely known for employing traditional Chinese artistic techniques and themes Biospecimens Research Network; the NCI Clinical Proteomics of cancer and accelerate research advancements to improve Nutrition in the Lucky Years to create pieces imbued with political and social commentary. In 2009, the artist Technology in Cancer Initiative; the NCI Alliance for t can’t be stressed enough: maintaining a healthy diet is one diverse angles,” Cohen explained. “As Dr. Agus says, if you change the lives of patients,” said Barker. “It’s long overdue that we the soil, the seed of cancer won’t grow. I am constantly trying to encountered a tradition in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen in which the locals sold felled, Nanotechnology in Cancer Program; and the Physical begin to view and manage complex diseases such as cancer as of the most important elements of wellness and disease prevention. We all understand this in theory, but in practice, think of ways to use nutrition and lifestyle modification to ‘change dried tree sections to be displayed in homes. Since then, Weiwei has experimented Sciences-Oncology Centers Program, which was launched complex adaptive systems, and in doing so the Ellison Institute with both natural and man-made tree sections molded and bolted together to form to connect physicists, mathematicians, engineers and weeding through the highly saturated nutrition and wellness the soil’ within the body to act as a protective element in the fight will deliver a new model of precision therapy and prevention I against cancer.” warped yet sturdy trunks that allude to China’s rapid industrialization. This 15-foot ecosystem to determine your ideal diet can be time-consuming cancer scientists dedicated to developing a fundamental that unites research and patient care for all patients––what a and confusing. To streamline our patients’ individual paths tall sculpture stands outdoors on our patio. (Lynne and Marc Benioff Collection) understanding of cancer. Additionally, Barker collaborated with remarkably exciting value proposition.” “In light of COVID-19, there has never been a more important the leadership of the FDA and was founding co-chair of the toward wellness, the Ellison Institute is proud to introduce our time to be proactive about your health and nutrition,” Cohen NCI-FDA Interagency Oncology Task Force and the Cancer Barker also spent several years at Battelle Memorial Institute, very own nutrition program led by registered dietitian nutritionist added. “We know that obesity and some chronic diseases increase Jurassic Palm (Fossil)––This fossil of a palm frond Kate Cohen. Steering Committee of the Foundation for the NIH Biomarker a nonprofit transdisciplinary research and development the risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19, so we are encouraging and fish dates back 50 million years. The fossil, Consortium. She also led the NCI’s international programs. organization, where she started as a research scientist and Cohen will counsel both oncology & wellness patients on our patients to focus on maintaining healthy weights through which is now housed on the fourth floor of the subsequently progressed to several senior executive roles. She has how to optimize their nutrition to enhance their health. She is a whole-food, Mediterranean diet Ellison Institute building, once bordered a warm, “It was an extraordinary opportunity to work with Dr. received numerous awards for her contributions to cancer research, Barker to successfully implement these innovative programs— excited to collaborate with the Ellison team to develop forward- focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole freshwater lake. Fossilized plant matter is incredibly and for her work with cancer patients, professional and advocacy thinking food & wellness programs for our patients, staff and grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.” rare to find, and this well-preserved, 7.5-foot tall and to realize a decade later how they have transformed organizations and the ongoing national effort to prevent and cure cancer research,” said Jerry Lee, PhD, chief scientific and the community. One of Cohen’s main goals is to remnant of the Jurassic period is among the largest cancer. Since joining the Institute, Dr. Barker was appointed to and finest-preserved intact fossils of its kind. This innovation officer of the Ellison Institute, who had served as the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Cancer After earning her undergraduate degree from NYU, Cohen promote evidence-based wellness Barker’s deputy director at the NCI. “I am thrilled to have pursued her master’s degree in nutritional science at California interventions, steering patients piece of fossilized flora and fauna is one of three Institute. She also received the Team Science Award as co-founder large fossils in our building; the others are a giant sea the opportunity to work with her, and Dr. Agus, to realize the of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) along with Dr. Francis State University, Los Angeles. She started her career as a clinical clear of dietary myths and toward vision of the Ellison Institute.” dietitian at Providence St. John’s Health Center, and she worked nutritional plans that stand up to lily––a distant relative of the starfish and sea urchin Collins, director of the NIH, and the founding team. Barker dating back 174 to 182 million years––and a slab Most recently, Barker served as Director of Transformative received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Ohio State University, where with acute care patients & the Abdominal Organ Transplant scientific scrutiny. “I hope to create Program at the Keck Medical Center of USC before starting of rock containing 35 fish of various species from Healthcare Networks, co-director of Complex Adaptive she studied chemistry, immunology and microbiology. programs and resources that give her private nutritional practice. She completed her supervised context to nutritional research and the lakes and rivers of Eocene, Wyoming, dating practice at UCLA/Santa Monica, USC/Keck Medical Center translate that information into back 50 million years. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) ““It was an extraordinary opportunity to work with Dr. Barker to successfully implement these innovative and with a prominent breast cancer dietitian. She is certified with actionable instructions on how to eat Kate Cohen programs—and to realize a decade later how they have transformed cancer research.” - J e rry L ee, PhD the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. to promote wellness,” she said. Photo Credit: Pam Thomas

2 3 4 Anna Barker, PhD, joins the Ellison Institute as Chief Strategy Officer Art to Complement the Science of Healing e are proud and excited to share that we recently Systems––Biomedicine he Ellison Institute is fortunate to house incredible artworks that breathe life into our new building and transform it Elephant by Jeff Koons––This 12.5-foot magenta elephant is part of Koons’ welcomed Anna Barker, PhD, to the role of Chief (CAS) and professor of into a healing space. We are grateful to our patrons who have donated and loaned these beautiful pieces. Here are a few Celebration series, spanning from the late 1990s to early 2000s, and stands Strategy Officer at the Ellison Institute. Dr. Barker’s practice, School of Life highlights from the building’s diverse collection. We can’t wait for you to experience the entirety of our artworks in person! outdoors on the third-floor patio. Its high chromium stainless steel body with talentW for uniting scientists across disciplines to tackle complex Sciences at Arizona State T transparent color coating reflects the sunlight and the world around it, adding problems and her track record as a talented leader in the global University (ASU). In these vibrance and a pop of color to our otherwise naturalistic, earth-toned building. HOPE by Robert Indiana––Our 3,000 pound, corten steel HOPE statue is located scientific community makes her an invaluable addition to roles, she designed and This lighthearted, bold piece also holds oncological significance–elephants rarely at the heart of our building because hope is at the core of our mission at the Ellison our institute. implemented “knowledge get cancer. Humans have one copy of a gene called p53, known as the guardian of Institute. The reason we set out to establish a new paradigm in cancer research and network” models that the genome, which protects against cancer; elephants have 20 copies. Our hope “It is a privilege to have Dr. Barker join our team at the care, and the reason we keep pushing forward day in and day out to question our address diseases such is that we can learn from other species like elephants to understand what works Institute. The tremendous work and impact she has made assumptions, adapt our science and break new ground, is that we fundamentally as cancer as complex in the protection against cancer and potentially translate that understanding in developing large-scale strategic programs focused on believe that a better future for cancer patients is attainable. We hope for a future adaptive systems. These to human systems to enhance cancer treatment. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) interdisciplinary science and transformative medicine is in which cancer patients live longer, healthier lives, and the HOPE statue serves fundamental to how we approach the treatment of cancer systems approaches have been employed to create as a physical embodiment of that motivation. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) differently,” saidDavid B. Agus, M.D. “Convergent science is the Untitled (2013) by Laura Owens––American innovative solutions in cornerstone of the Ellison Institute, and Dr. Barker’s ability to painter Laura Owens, who emerged into the Los areas such as biomarker LOVE by Robert Indiana––The LOVE bring together some of the best and brightest minds to advance Angeles art scene in the 1990s, is known for her discovery and development, statue, a colorful relative and predecessor precision medicine will be an incredible asset to the work we pioneering and experimental art that challenges new clinical trial designs, of the HOPE statue, is housed indoors on accomplish here.” conventions of figuration and abstraction. She and the use of big data Dr. Anna Barker the third floor of our building. Since its Previously, Barker served as the principal deputy director often defies traditional assumptions about and artificial intelligence first appearance in 1958, Indiana’s “LOVE” of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and deputy director painting and mixes techniques and tools to in precision medicine. As a result of her efforts, she led the motif has become an iconic representation for strategic scientific initiatives. In these roles she led the create daring, bold and experiential pieces. development of the biomarker and clinical trials sections of of American pop art and its variations have development of foundational platforms and national st Her art is full of movement, and it possesses a the 21 Century Cures Act. Barker will maintain a courtesy graced everything from Museum of Modern programs to support the emerging concept of precision quality of demanding to be viewed. This acrylic, appointment as a distinguished visiting fellow at ASU in Art Christmas cards to U.S. postal stamps. medicine. During her tenure at the NCI, she collaboratively oil, resin and charcoal on linen painting is part Complex Adaptive Systems. This polychrome aluminum, word-as-a-form-of-art sculpture is located on one of planned and implemented a number of strategic convergence of a series of 12 large-scale paintings originally our research floors and serves as a reminder of the humanity that is at the heart programs that emphasized innovation, networks of global “I am excited to have joined Dr. Agus and the Ellison Institute displayed at her Los Angeles-based exhibition of all we do in cancer research and treatment. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) institutions, team science and publicly available data. team, and pleased that even in the COVID-19 pandemic, our 356 Mission in 2013. (Meir Teper Collection) team is working virtually to create transformative strategies and Initiatives and programs under Barker’s leadership programs to achieve our vision,” Barker said. “We are uniquely include: The Cancer Genome Atlas, co-developed with the positioned to achieve convergence of the biomedical and physical Iron Tree Trunk by Ai Weiwei––Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei National Human Genome Research Institute and the “I’m inspired and motivated by the Ellison Institute’s collaborative sciences in ways that promise to transform our understanding culture and dedication to approaching cancer and wellness from is widely known for employing traditional Chinese artistic techniques and themes Biospecimens Research Network; the NCI Clinical Proteomics of cancer and accelerate research advancements to improve Nutrition in the Lucky Years to create pieces imbued with political and social commentary. In 2009, the artist Technology in Cancer Initiative; the NCI Alliance for t can’t be stressed enough: maintaining a healthy diet is one diverse angles,” Cohen explained. “As Dr. Agus says, if you change the lives of patients,” said Barker. “It’s long overdue that we the soil, the seed of cancer won’t grow. I am constantly trying to encountered a tradition in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen in which the locals sold felled, Nanotechnology in Cancer Program; and the Physical begin to view and manage complex diseases such as cancer as of the most important elements of wellness and disease prevention. We all understand this in theory, but in practice, think of ways to use nutrition and lifestyle modification to ‘change dried tree sections to be displayed in homes. Since then, Weiwei has experimented Sciences-Oncology Centers Program, which was launched complex adaptive systems, and in doing so the Ellison Institute with both natural and man-made tree sections molded and bolted together to form to connect physicists, mathematicians, engineers and weeding through the highly saturated nutrition and wellness the soil’ within the body to act as a protective element in the fight will deliver a new model of precision therapy and prevention I against cancer.” warped yet sturdy trunks that allude to China’s rapid industrialization. This 15-foot ecosystem to determine your ideal diet can be time-consuming cancer scientists dedicated to developing a fundamental that unites research and patient care for all patients––what a and confusing. To streamline our patients’ individual paths tall sculpture stands outdoors on our patio. (Lynne and Marc Benioff Collection) understanding of cancer. Additionally, Barker collaborated with remarkably exciting value proposition.” “In light of COVID-19, there has never been a more important the leadership of the FDA and was founding co-chair of the toward wellness, the Ellison Institute is proud to introduce our time to be proactive about your health and nutrition,” Cohen NCI-FDA Interagency Oncology Task Force and the Cancer Barker also spent several years at Battelle Memorial Institute, very own nutrition program led by registered dietitian nutritionist added. “We know that obesity and some chronic diseases increase Jurassic Palm (Fossil)––This fossil of a palm frond Kate Cohen. Steering Committee of the Foundation for the NIH Biomarker a nonprofit transdisciplinary research and development the risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19, so we are encouraging and fish dates back 50 million years. The fossil, Consortium. She also led the NCI’s international programs. organization, where she started as a research scientist and Cohen will counsel both oncology & wellness patients on our patients to focus on maintaining healthy weights through which is now housed on the fourth floor of the subsequently progressed to several senior executive roles. She has how to optimize their nutrition to enhance their health. She is a whole-food, Mediterranean diet Ellison Institute building, once bordered a warm, “It was an extraordinary opportunity to work with Dr. received numerous awards for her contributions to cancer research, Barker to successfully implement these innovative programs— excited to collaborate with the Ellison team to develop forward- focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole freshwater lake. Fossilized plant matter is incredibly and for her work with cancer patients, professional and advocacy thinking food & wellness programs for our patients, staff and grains, lean proteins and healthy fats.” rare to find, and this well-preserved, 7.5-foot tall and to realize a decade later how they have transformed organizations and the ongoing national effort to prevent and cure cancer research,” said Jerry Lee, PhD, chief scientific and the community. One of Cohen’s main goals is to remnant of the Jurassic period is among the largest cancer. Since joining the Institute, Dr. Barker was appointed to and finest-preserved intact fossils of its kind. This innovation officer of the Ellison Institute, who had served as the National Cancer Advisory Board of the National Cancer After earning her undergraduate degree from NYU, Cohen promote evidence-based wellness Barker’s deputy director at the NCI. “I am thrilled to have pursued her master’s degree in nutritional science at California interventions, steering patients piece of fossilized flora and fauna is one of three Institute. She also received the Team Science Award as co-founder large fossils in our building; the others are a giant sea the opportunity to work with her, and Dr. Agus, to realize the of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) along with Dr. Francis State University, Los Angeles. She started her career as a clinical clear of dietary myths and toward vision of the Ellison Institute.” dietitian at Providence St. John’s Health Center, and she worked nutritional plans that stand up to lily––a distant relative of the starfish and sea urchin Collins, director of the NIH, and the founding team. Barker dating back 174 to 182 million years––and a slab Most recently, Barker served as Director of Transformative received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Ohio State University, where with acute care patients & the Abdominal Organ Transplant scientific scrutiny. “I hope to create Program at the Keck Medical Center of USC before starting of rock containing 35 fish of various species from Healthcare Networks, co-director of Complex Adaptive she studied chemistry, immunology and microbiology. programs and resources that give her private nutritional practice. She completed her supervised context to nutritional research and the lakes and rivers of Eocene, Wyoming, dating practice at UCLA/Santa Monica, USC/Keck Medical Center translate that information into back 50 million years. (Lawrence J. Ellison Collection) ““It was an extraordinary opportunity to work with Dr. Barker to successfully implement these innovative and with a prominent breast cancer dietitian. She is certified with actionable instructions on how to eat Kate Cohen programs—and to realize a decade later how they have transformed cancer research.” - J e rry L ee, PhD the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. to promote wellness,” she said. Photo Credit: Pam Thomas

2 3 4 “Fingerprinting” Tumors to Enhance Cancer Diagnostics Shaping the Next Generation of Scientific Minds or us humans to become world-class experts in a workaround allowed the team to develop the algorithm using ransforming medicine involves thinking beyond the given field, it’s estimated we require about 10,000 hours unannotated pathology images, which are much more readily here-and-now. Sparking lasting change requires of practice. A similar rule goes for machine learning available than their annotated counterparts. passing the scientific torch to future generations, and we algorithms, though they ideally need to “practice” by analyzing Once the algorithm had familiarized itself with variations innovate more intelligently if we learn from the history upon millionsF of data examples before they can recognize meaningful T in breast cancer tissue architecture, the team then asked it to which current medicine was built. For these reasons, the new relationships in the data with consistency and high confidence. employ its ability to pair “same” with “different” to learn which of Ellison Institute building integrates today’s cutting-edge Developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to diagnose those known patterns correlated to a particular diagnosis. For a technologies with testaments to their historical antecedents, cancer is challenging because high-quality, clinically annotated human equivalent, it would be like familiarizing yourself with the woven together with the thread of education and a vested interest in shaping the scientific minds of the future. datasets of a sufficient size are all but impossible to come by in faces of many members of a family and then learning that they Summer 2020 cancer pathology. Researchers typically only have access to a few were called “the Smiths.” The Ellison Institute team’s two-step As part of our Education and Outreach Program, the A section of the Ellison Institute’s History of Medicine Gallery. thousand pathology slides annotated with correct diagnoses––and approach to training the algorithm enabled it to accurately assign Ellison Institute has trained a select group of USC students this data deficit can stymie scientific progress. diagnostic categories to tumor images with an unprecedented and high schoolers from the nearby Wildwood School to lead into the intricacies of cancer research and medical technologies. Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Researchers at the Ellison Institute (EI) have recently devised level of accuracy for a technology of its kind. building tours and educate guests on the past, present and future of In the future, we hope to expand our educational presence in From the Desk of David B. Agus, M.D. the community by hosting guest speakers from academia and Doctor’s Notes Transformative Medicine of USC a clever workaround to this problem, enabling them to train a medicine. The tours will start with our History of Medicine high-confidence predictive algorithm using less than 1,000 breast Gallery, where medical artifacts and fossils dating back millions of industry, screening documentaries and conducting classes on years are juxtaposed with T1V interactive touch screens that teach wellness and nutrition. cancer pathology slides paired with correct diagnoses. It involves Dear Friends, challenge our assumptions about cancer, we stand firmer a two-step process of priming the algorithm to identify unique visitors about the gallery’s contents. Some of our antiquities are The Ellison Institute has partnered with the than ever in our dedication to uniting bright minds across patterns in cancerous tissue before teaching it what those patterns originals or replicas we own, and others are on loan from history transdisciplinary, forward-thinking USC Iovine and Young The past few months have brought mean in terms of diagnostics. Ellison Institute scientists Rishi museums and organizations around the world. As visitors move Academy to engage their undergraduate students in designing with them many unprecedented disciplines to collaboratively enhance medicine. Rawat, PhD, Dan Ruderman, PhD, Itzel Ortega, Preeyam Roy through the gallery, our tour guides will educate them on early wearable technology for our team members to bring our changes, and times like these shed light and David Agus, MD, along with EI member Fei Sha, PhD, techniques of practicing medicine, major scientific breakthroughs “smart” building to life. The students have designed a sleek wrist on the amount of adaptability and “I could not be prouder of the way our Ellison Institute and USC collaborator Darryl Shibata, MD, published their Ellison Institute researchers have developed a method of “fingerprinting” breast cancer and how the Ellison Institute is currently building upon those band (the Ellison Band) to monitor movement throughout the dedication a team possesses. I could team has collectively stepped up to continue to push tissue samples to identify unique features in the cellular architecture and enhance precision discoveries to advance 21st century medicine. technique in Scientific Reports in April. They were able to achieve diagnostics. The left image shows a portion of a stained breast cancer pathology slide building, which will enable us to encourage team members to not be prouder of the way our Ellison forward in our mission while adjusting to this containing thousands of cells; the right features a heat map of structural patterns, generated Institute team has collectively stepped unprecedented diagnostic accuracy for an algorithm of this type As the tour progresses, visitors will have the opportunity to look interact with the building and each other in ways that facilitate -David Agus, M.D. and purpose, and their achievement signals a giant step forward by a machine learning algorithm, with red regions representing those whose patterns are within our glass-walled laboratories and learn about the cancer interdisciplinary collaboration. We hope to continue working with up to continue to push forward in our new normal.” most unique to the individual patient. in medical machine learning. research conducted before their eyes. Guests will be acquainted Academy students to continue developing innovative, health- mission while adjusting to this new “With clinically annotated pathology data in short supply, we with art dispersed throughout our building, and as they move oriented technologies to solve problems through scientific, normal. Our clinical staff have remained diligent in their By the time you read this letter, we will be moving into our The first step in their process relies on the fact that no two new facility at 12414 Exposition Boulevard on the Westside patients’ tumors are identical. Just as our fingerprints are unique must use it wisely. Our work leveraged abundant unannotated through our collaborative workspaces they will see and hear entrepreneurial and creative lenses. commitment to caring for patients with active cancers. Our data to find a reduced set of tumor features that can represent interdisciplinary, innovative scientific discussions evolving in real researchers have maximized their time outside the lab to and embarking on a new chapter for the Ellison Institute. This and can identify us as individuals, tumors also have their own “Our Education & Outreach Program is so important to us paradigm-shifting model of integrated patient care, research structural “fingerprints” that distinguish them from other unique biology,” Ruderman said. “Building classifiers upon the time. At the end of each tour, our guides will host interactive here at the Ellison Institute because we want to inspire the next publish papers, apply for grants and lay the groundwork for biology that these features represent enables us to efficiently focus talks covering topics ranging from the basics of cancer biology to promising collaborations with like-minded scientists around and wellness under one roof will fundamentally change the way patients’ tissue samples. These fingerprints are the result of growth generation of scientists and share our resources, research and our clinicians, scientists and researchers interact and learn from patterns and biological variations, such as the presence of signaling the precious annotated data on clinical aspects.” the applications of big data and evolving research technologies experiences with the community,” said Jillian Infusino, MPH, the world. The Ellison Institute’s leadership––under the each other in the fight against cancer. By bringing us together molecules and receptors, that influence the 3D organization of a By correlating a tumor’s architectural pattern with a in the field of oncology. CHES, our Education and Outreach Specialist at the Ellison guidance of our new chief strategy officer, Dr. Anna and facilitating transdisciplinary science, this building will tumor and appear as minute structural differences on pathology correct diagnosis, the algorithm can ultimately help clinicians In addition to offering tours to patients, students and Institute. “We want to inspire people of all ages to think critically, Barker, whom you will read more about in this newsletter––has slides. The human eye cannot reliably track these variations, but determine if that tumor will respond to a given treatment. Breast community members, we will begin hosting four-part weekly encourage them to make healthier choices and get them thinking leveraged this time to convene virtually to optimize our path serve as a catalyst to accelerate progress and transform cancer computer algorithms now can. tumors that express a molecule called estrogen receptor, for educational sessions for high school STEM clubs that dive deeper about health and wellness in different ways.” forward as we continue working to deliver transformative treatment as we know it. “If you train a computer to reproduce what a person example, look unique at the cellular level and fall into their own innovations to patients. This new facility is a daring dream come true, and I am diagnostic category because they typically respond to knows how to do, it’s never going to get far beyond human We have also been involved in the national response honored and humbled by your dedication to helping us see anti-estrogen therapies. Currently, pathologists use performance. If you train it on a task ten times harder than anything Ellison Institute Researchers Receive NIH Funding to Develop Acoustic Tweezers to COVID-19, notably by working with Oracle on a this vision to fruition. As always, I deeply appreciate your a person could do, then you give it a chance to go beyond human chemical stains to probe biopsy samples for the presence of the he National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded of trapping living tissue and multicellular structures without support for the Ellison Institute as we push forward with life- estrogen receptor to make that diagnosis, but the process is over $1.3 million in Research Project (R01) grant funding causing a temperature increase that damages the tissue. At the COVID-19 Therapeutic Monitoring System. The online tool capability,” Rawat said. “Human beings are not hardwired to collects real-world data on doctors’ treatment choices and saving research. Each of your contributions makes our institute recognize patterns of cells on pathology slides. We’re social time-consuming, expensive and variable depending on where to Ellison Institute Research Director Mitchell Gross, Ellison Institute, Gross will deploy this technology to study the stronger collectively, and we are so grateful that you continue it’s done. Though the Ellison Institute’s algorithm is not meant MD, PhD, EI affiliate Scott Fraser, PhD, and primary investigator structure and biophysical properties of three-dimensional human resulting outcomes for COVID-19 patients, and it in turn animals. We’re hardwired to recognize faces. A person can look T enables other clinicians to make data-driven decisions to to be part of this journey with us. I look forward to all the to replace skilled pathologists, it can enhance and streamline Eun Sok Kim, PhD, of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. cancer models. “Cancer cells are most dangerous when they are through a crowd of a thousand people and instantly recognize increase their patients’ chances of recovery. I have had the groundbreaking work that is to come in our new building, and a face. With tissue fingerprinting, we can train a computer to their work by directly analyzing tumor images to diagnose Over a span of four years, the grant will support the develop- organized in groups to form tumors,” Gross said. “We hope to I cannot wait to welcome you all there and step forward into a them as “estrogen receptor positive” without targeted estrogen ment of an acoustic tweezer device, which utilizes sound waves use this device to study how this three-dimensional structure privilege of appearing regularly on CBS News, the Howard look through thousands of tumor images and recognize the Stern Show and other media platforms to educate the public new era of cancer care together. visual features of an individual tumor. Through training, we have receptor staining. to move and manipulate living tissue. The technology is similar influences critical events such as tumor growth, metastatic spread, on the evolving pandemic, and I collaborated with Facebook, essentially evolved a computer eye that’s optimized to look at This technology’s applications could one day reach far and wide to that of optical tweezers, though acoustic tweezers are capable and therapy resistance.” With respect, cancer patterns.” by enhancing diagnostics in medically underserved regions and CBS This Morning and TIME to host weekly COVID-19 Join the fight against cancer! Question & Answer sessions on Facebook Live. The To develop this “computer eye,” the Ellison Institute research developing nations that lack expert pathologists and the labora- Each gift matters in the fight against cancer. By supporting our disruptive, multidisciplinary research you will help change the face of cancer treatment and significantly Ellison team has worked together to help share team took digital pathology images of breast cancers, split them tory infrastructure to stain for molecular markers. benefit the lives of those battling cancer today. Simply fill out the enclosed envelope to donate to the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC evidence-based health information during this pandemic, and in half and prompted a machine learning algorithm to pair “It is really amazing to me that there is so much information in David B. Agus, M.D. or visit our website now! ellison.usc.edu/donors Contact Katrina Barron at 310-601-3352 or [email protected] for more information. in doing so we have had the opportunity to think deeply about them back together solely by recognizing patterns of cells and the cancer specimens, through patterns and the architecture of the our commitment to providing thought leadership in Professor of Medicine and Engineering other tissue components that create a unique “fingerprint.” The tissue, that the human brain hasn’t yet been able to identify,” Agus the biomedical space. Whether it be as broad as Founding Director and CEO algorithm was thereby able to practice grouping “same” and said. “Computing power and AI are unleashing this information Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC communicating with the public through the media or as Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine “different” pathology slides without involving diagnoses. This and it’s leading to better cancer care. Such an exciting time!” Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for 12414 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064 targeted as hosting Visiting Scholars at the new building to University of Southern California Transformative Medicine of USC Tel: (310) 228-6400 Fax: (310) 272-7656 ellison.usc.edu 5 6 “Fingerprinting” Tumors to Enhance Cancer Diagnostics Shaping the Next Generation of Scientific Minds or us humans to become world-class experts in a workaround allowed the team to develop the algorithm using ransforming medicine involves thinking beyond the given field, it’s estimated we require about 10,000 hours unannotated pathology images, which are much more readily here-and-now. Sparking lasting change requires of practice. A similar rule goes for machine learning available than their annotated counterparts. passing the scientific torch to future generations, and we algorithms, though they ideally need to “practice” by analyzing Once the algorithm had familiarized itself with variations innovate more intelligently if we learn from the history upon millionsF of data examples before they can recognize meaningful T in breast cancer tissue architecture, the team then asked it to which current medicine was built. For these reasons, the new relationships in the data with consistency and high confidence. employ its ability to pair “same” with “different” to learn which of Ellison Institute building integrates today’s cutting-edge Developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools to diagnose those known patterns correlated to a particular diagnosis. For a technologies with testaments to their historical antecedents, cancer is challenging because high-quality, clinically annotated human equivalent, it would be like familiarizing yourself with the woven together with the thread of education and a vested interest in shaping the scientific minds of the future. datasets of a sufficient size are all but impossible to come by in faces of many members of a family and then learning that they Summer 2020 cancer pathology. Researchers typically only have access to a few were called “the Smiths.” The Ellison Institute team’s two-step As part of our Education and Outreach Program, the A section of the Ellison Institute’s History of Medicine Gallery. thousand pathology slides annotated with correct diagnoses––and approach to training the algorithm enabled it to accurately assign Ellison Institute has trained a select group of USC students this data deficit can stymie scientific progress. diagnostic categories to tumor images with an unprecedented and high schoolers from the nearby Wildwood School to lead into the intricacies of cancer research and medical technologies. Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Researchers at the Ellison Institute (EI) have recently devised level of accuracy for a technology of its kind. building tours and educate guests on the past, present and future of In the future, we hope to expand our educational presence in From the Desk of David B. Agus, M.D. the community by hosting guest speakers from academia and Doctor’s Notes Transformative Medicine of USC a clever workaround to this problem, enabling them to train a medicine. The tours will start with our History of Medicine high-confidence predictive algorithm using less than 1,000 breast Gallery, where medical artifacts and fossils dating back millions of industry, screening documentaries and conducting classes on years are juxtaposed with T1V interactive touch screens that teach wellness and nutrition. cancer pathology slides paired with correct diagnoses. It involves Dear Friends, challenge our assumptions about cancer, we stand firmer a two-step process of priming the algorithm to identify unique visitors about the gallery’s contents. Some of our antiquities are The Ellison Institute has partnered with the than ever in our dedication to uniting bright minds across patterns in cancerous tissue before teaching it what those patterns originals or replicas we own, and others are on loan from history transdisciplinary, forward-thinking USC Iovine and Young The past few months have brought mean in terms of diagnostics. Ellison Institute scientists Rishi museums and organizations around the world. As visitors move Academy to engage their undergraduate students in designing with them many unprecedented disciplines to collaboratively enhance medicine. Rawat, PhD, Dan Ruderman, PhD, Itzel Ortega, Preeyam Roy through the gallery, our tour guides will educate them on early wearable technology for our team members to bring our changes, and times like these shed light and David Agus, MD, along with EI member Fei Sha, PhD, techniques of practicing medicine, major scientific breakthroughs “smart” building to life. The students have designed a sleek wrist on the amount of adaptability and “I could not be prouder of the way our Ellison Institute and USC collaborator Darryl Shibata, MD, published their Ellison Institute researchers have developed a method of “fingerprinting” breast cancer and how the Ellison Institute is currently building upon those band (the Ellison Band) to monitor movement throughout the dedication a team possesses. I could team has collectively stepped up to continue to push tissue samples to identify unique features in the cellular architecture and enhance precision discoveries to advance 21st century medicine. technique in Scientific Reports in April. They were able to achieve diagnostics. The left image shows a portion of a stained breast cancer pathology slide building, which will enable us to encourage team members to not be prouder of the way our Ellison forward in our mission while adjusting to this containing thousands of cells; the right features a heat map of structural patterns, generated Institute team has collectively stepped unprecedented diagnostic accuracy for an algorithm of this type As the tour progresses, visitors will have the opportunity to look interact with the building and each other in ways that facilitate -David Agus, M.D. and purpose, and their achievement signals a giant step forward by a machine learning algorithm, with red regions representing those whose patterns are within our glass-walled laboratories and learn about the cancer interdisciplinary collaboration. We hope to continue working with up to continue to push forward in our new normal.” most unique to the individual patient. in medical machine learning. research conducted before their eyes. Guests will be acquainted Academy students to continue developing innovative, health- mission while adjusting to this new “With clinically annotated pathology data in short supply, we with art dispersed throughout our building, and as they move oriented technologies to solve problems through scientific, normal. Our clinical staff have remained diligent in their By the time you read this letter, we will be moving into our The first step in their process relies on the fact that no two new facility at 12414 Exposition Boulevard on the Westside patients’ tumors are identical. Just as our fingerprints are unique must use it wisely. Our work leveraged abundant unannotated through our collaborative workspaces they will see and hear entrepreneurial and creative lenses. commitment to caring for patients with active cancers. Our data to find a reduced set of tumor features that can represent interdisciplinary, innovative scientific discussions evolving in real researchers have maximized their time outside the lab to and embarking on a new chapter for the Ellison Institute. This and can identify us as individuals, tumors also have their own “Our Education & Outreach Program is so important to us paradigm-shifting model of integrated patient care, research structural “fingerprints” that distinguish them from other unique biology,” Ruderman said. “Building classifiers upon the time. At the end of each tour, our guides will host interactive here at the Ellison Institute because we want to inspire the next publish papers, apply for grants and lay the groundwork for biology that these features represent enables us to efficiently focus talks covering topics ranging from the basics of cancer biology to promising collaborations with like-minded scientists around and wellness under one roof will fundamentally change the way patients’ tissue samples. These fingerprints are the result of growth generation of scientists and share our resources, research and our clinicians, scientists and researchers interact and learn from patterns and biological variations, such as the presence of signaling the precious annotated data on clinical aspects.” the applications of big data and evolving research technologies experiences with the community,” said Jillian Infusino, MPH, the world. The Ellison Institute’s leadership––under the each other in the fight against cancer. By bringing us together molecules and receptors, that influence the 3D organization of a By correlating a tumor’s architectural pattern with a in the field of oncology. CHES, our Education and Outreach Specialist at the Ellison guidance of our new chief strategy officer, Dr. Anna and facilitating transdisciplinary science, this building will tumor and appear as minute structural differences on pathology correct diagnosis, the algorithm can ultimately help clinicians In addition to offering tours to patients, students and Institute. “We want to inspire people of all ages to think critically, Barker, whom you will read more about in this newsletter––has slides. The human eye cannot reliably track these variations, but determine if that tumor will respond to a given treatment. Breast community members, we will begin hosting four-part weekly encourage them to make healthier choices and get them thinking leveraged this time to convene virtually to optimize our path serve as a catalyst to accelerate progress and transform cancer computer algorithms now can. tumors that express a molecule called estrogen receptor, for educational sessions for high school STEM clubs that dive deeper about health and wellness in different ways.” forward as we continue working to deliver transformative treatment as we know it. “If you train a computer to reproduce what a person example, look unique at the cellular level and fall into their own innovations to patients. This new facility is a daring dream come true, and I am diagnostic category because they typically respond to knows how to do, it’s never going to get far beyond human We have also been involved in the national response honored and humbled by your dedication to helping us see anti-estrogen therapies. Currently, pathologists use performance. If you train it on a task ten times harder than anything Ellison Institute Researchers Receive NIH Funding to Develop Acoustic Tweezers to COVID-19, notably by working with Oracle on a this vision to fruition. As always, I deeply appreciate your a person could do, then you give it a chance to go beyond human chemical stains to probe biopsy samples for the presence of the he National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded of trapping living tissue and multicellular structures without support for the Ellison Institute as we push forward with life- estrogen receptor to make that diagnosis, but the process is over $1.3 million in Research Project (R01) grant funding causing a temperature increase that damages the tissue. At the COVID-19 Therapeutic Monitoring System. The online tool capability,” Rawat said. “Human beings are not hardwired to collects real-world data on doctors’ treatment choices and saving research. Each of your contributions makes our institute recognize patterns of cells on pathology slides. We’re social time-consuming, expensive and variable depending on where to Ellison Institute Research Director Mitchell Gross, Ellison Institute, Gross will deploy this technology to study the stronger collectively, and we are so grateful that you continue it’s done. Though the Ellison Institute’s algorithm is not meant MD, PhD, EI affiliate Scott Fraser, PhD, and primary investigator structure and biophysical properties of three-dimensional human resulting outcomes for COVID-19 patients, and it in turn animals. We’re hardwired to recognize faces. A person can look T enables other clinicians to make data-driven decisions to to be part of this journey with us. I look forward to all the to replace skilled pathologists, it can enhance and streamline Eun Sok Kim, PhD, of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. cancer models. “Cancer cells are most dangerous when they are through a crowd of a thousand people and instantly recognize increase their patients’ chances of recovery. I have had the groundbreaking work that is to come in our new building, and a face. With tissue fingerprinting, we can train a computer to their work by directly analyzing tumor images to diagnose Over a span of four years, the grant will support the develop- organized in groups to form tumors,” Gross said. “We hope to I cannot wait to welcome you all there and step forward into a them as “estrogen receptor positive” without targeted estrogen ment of an acoustic tweezer device, which utilizes sound waves use this device to study how this three-dimensional structure privilege of appearing regularly on CBS News, the Howard look through thousands of tumor images and recognize the Stern Show and other media platforms to educate the public new era of cancer care together. visual features of an individual tumor. Through training, we have receptor staining. to move and manipulate living tissue. The technology is similar influences critical events such as tumor growth, metastatic spread, on the evolving pandemic, and I collaborated with Facebook, essentially evolved a computer eye that’s optimized to look at This technology’s applications could one day reach far and wide to that of optical tweezers, though acoustic tweezers are capable and therapy resistance.” With respect, cancer patterns.” by enhancing diagnostics in medically underserved regions and CBS This Morning and TIME to host weekly COVID-19 Join the fight against cancer! Question & Answer sessions on Facebook Live. The To develop this “computer eye,” the Ellison Institute research developing nations that lack expert pathologists and the labora- Each gift matters in the fight against cancer. By supporting our disruptive, multidisciplinary research you will help change the face of cancer treatment and significantly Ellison team has worked together to help share team took digital pathology images of breast cancers, split them tory infrastructure to stain for molecular markers. benefit the lives of those battling cancer today. Simply fill out the enclosed envelope to donate to the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC evidence-based health information during this pandemic, and in half and prompted a machine learning algorithm to pair “It is really amazing to me that there is so much information in David B. Agus, M.D. or visit our website now! ellison.usc.edu/donors Contact Katrina Barron at 310-601-3352 or [email protected] for more information. in doing so we have had the opportunity to think deeply about them back together solely by recognizing patterns of cells and the cancer specimens, through patterns and the architecture of the our commitment to providing thought leadership in Professor of Medicine and Engineering other tissue components that create a unique “fingerprint.” The tissue, that the human brain hasn’t yet been able to identify,” Agus the biomedical space. Whether it be as broad as Founding Director and CEO algorithm was thereby able to practice grouping “same” and said. “Computing power and AI are unleashing this information Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC communicating with the public through the media or as Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine “different” pathology slides without involving diagnoses. This and it’s leading to better cancer care. Such an exciting time!” Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for 12414 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064 targeted as hosting Visiting Scholars at the new building to University of Southern California Transformative Medicine of USC Tel: (310) 228-6400 Fax: (310) 272-7656 ellison.usc.edu 5 6