Laboratory of Systems Biology and Quantitative Pharmacology

Welcome to the Fallahi-Sichani Lab
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Virginia

Our research goals are focused on developing new experimental and computational tools to understand the fundamental mechanisms of human cell responses to environmental perturbations and therapeutic treatments. Our approach combines targeted deployment of high-throughput, multiplexed experimental technologies (such as high-content imaging, transcriptomics, and proteomics), generation of hypothesis-driven datasets, and integration of computational tools, to create quantitative models of drug response that are predictive at single-cell, molecular and network levels. The iterative use of these methods allows us to make predictions about key biological mechanisms underlying cellular response to perturbations and therapeutic treatments, validate our predictions, and utilize them to guide the development of better therapies for precision medicine. In this direction, a major research effort in our lab is focused on the understanding of mechanisms that control heterogeneous therapeutic responses in human tumor cells. Specifically, we are interested in uncovering the biochemical and epigenetic mechanisms that underlie adaptive tumor cell fate decisions in the presence of cell-autonomous, microenvironment, and therapy-induced selective pressures, and elucidate how different they are in comparison with healthy cells. From a therapeutic point of view, a detailed understanding of these mechanisms will provide a rational basis for choosing the optimal molecular targets that will: (i) maximize tumor cell killing, (ii) prevent the development of therapeutic resistance and (iii) reduce therapy-induced adverse effects in healthy cells.