Integrating Technologies for Synthetic, Systems, and Spatial Approaches in Cancer Research

Authors

• Karmella A. Haynes, Emory UniversityFollow
• Kolade Adebowale, University of California - San Diego
• Belinda S. Akpa, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Joel S. Bader, Johns Hopkins University
• Trisha Bansal, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Joshua Breunig, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Ran Brosh, NYU Langone Health
• Lukasz J. Bugaj, University of Pennsylvania
• George M. Burslem, University of Pennsylvania
• Awalpreet Chadha, University of Alabama, Birmingham
• Moumita Das, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Tara Deans, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Cole A. DeForest, University of Washington
• Lawrence J. Dooling, University of Houston
• Zev Gartner, University of California, San Francisco
• Laura M. Heiser, Oregon Health & Science University
• Alex Hughes, University of Pennsylvania
• Melissa L. Kemp, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Kirill S. Korolev, Boston University
• Chunru Lin, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Timothee Lionnet, New York University
• Xin Lu, University of Notre Dame
• Alison P. McGuigan, University of Toronto
• Hamid Reza Mirzaei, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Ajit J. Nirmal, Harvard Medical School
• Marina Pasca di Magliano, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• Alexandros Poulopoulos, University of Maryland at Baltimore
• Kunal Rai, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• José Reyes, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Dagan Segal, UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin, University of Alabama, Birmingham
• Evegeniya V. Shmeleva, Tufts University
• Adam Stevens, University of Pennsylvania
• Subbaya Subramanian, University of Minnesota
• Thea Tlsty, University of California, San Francisco
• Jennifer Totonchy, Chapman UniversityFollow
• Alexander Vlahos, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Pei Wang, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
• Ioannis K. Zervantonakis, University of Pittsburgh
• Yanding Zhao, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-9-2026

Abstract

Emerging tools for spatial analysis, systems biology, and synthetic biology offer opportunities to observe, dissect, and perturb cancer mechanisms, to design strategies for the prevention of oncogenesis, and to identify therapies that lead to durable tumor control. Here, we summarize perspectives from the virtual Innovation Lab on “Synthetic and Systems Approaches to Interrogate Spatiotemporal Processes in Cancer” (S3) hosted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which assembled interdisciplinary experts to discuss cancer spatial organization and dynamic cellular interactions and how they can be addressed by leveraging novel synthetic and systems biology approaches. These discussions focused especially on cancer initiation, which results from a failure of systems control. To catalyze innovation across the research community, we summarize key insights from these events into a vision for integrated synthetic, systems, and spatial approaches in cancer research.

Comments

This article was originally published in ACS Synthetic Biology in 2026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.6c00339

Recommended Citation

Karmella A. Haynes, Kolade Adebowale, Belinda S. Akpa, Joel S. Bader, Trisha Bansal, Joshua Breunig, Ran Brosh, Lukasz J. Bugaj, George M. Burslem, Awalpreet Chadha, Moumita Das, Tara Deans, Cole A. DeForest, Lawrence J. Dooling, Zev Gartner, Laura M. Heiser, Alex Hughes, Melissa L. Kemp, Kirill S. Korolev, Chunru Lin, Timothee Lionnet, Xin Lu, Alison P. McGuigan, Hamid Reza Mirzaei, Ajit J. Nirmal, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Alexandros Poulopoulos, Kunal Rai, José Reyes, Dagan Segal, Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin, Evgeniya V. Shmeleva, Adam Stevens, Subbaya Subramanian, Thea Tlsty, Jennifer Totonchy, Alexander Vlahos, Pei Wang, Ioannis K. Zervantonakis, Yanding Zhao, Jeffrey H. Chuang; Integrating Technologies for Synthetic, Systems, and Spatial Approaches in Cancer Research. ACS Synth. Biol. 2026; https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.6c00339

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The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.