To better understand prostate cancer, Ebrahim Afyounian, together with his colleagues, have focused on the development of novel computational tools and methods for the analysis of extensive cancer research data.
“Our aim was to utilise high-throughput omics data to gain deeper insights into prostate cancer development and progression,” Afyounian says.
The research centred on two main objectives: creating novel computational tools and methods for data analysis and applying these to identify key changes in prostate cancer development and progression. One outcome of this effort is the development of the Segmentum, a computational tool designed to identify somatic copy number alterations in genome sequencing data. They are changes in the number of copies of specific genes or regions in the DNA, which can drive cancer development and progression, making their detection crucial for understanding and treating the disease. The accuracy and efficiency of Segmentum enables the detailed analysis of genome instability in cancer.
The study also emphasised multilevel high-throughput data analysis.
“Integrating data from various omics levels provides a more comprehensive understanding of prostate cancer,” Afyounian points out.
This integrative approach led to observations about the proteome’s stability despite genomic and transcriptomic alterations and the impact of alterations in chromatin accessibility – a measure of how tightly or loosely DNA is packed and accessed in the cell – on cancer development and progression.
“Our study contributes to understanding prostate cancer development and progression. We hope our research will inform and inspire efforts to understand this disease, which is essential for developing more effective prostate cancer treatments,” Afyounian concludes.
Public defence on Friday 12 January
The doctoral dissertation of M.Sc. Ebrahim Afyounian in the field of bioinformatics titled Computational Analysis of Multilevel High-throughput Data from Cancer Tissue will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology of Tampere University at 12 o’clock on Friday 12 January 2024 on the Kauppi campus, Arvo building, auditorium F114 (Address: Arvo Ylpön katu 34, Tampere). Dr. Thomas Fleischer from Oslo University Hospital, Norway, will act as the opponent. Professor Matti Nykter from Tampere University will act as the custos.
The doctoral dissertation is available online.
The public defence can be followed via a remote connection.
Photo: Jukka Lehtiniemi