Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy
The Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy works to develop and deploy the next generation of truly personalized cancer therapy, through the integration of predictive mathematical models, patient data and evolutionary principles.
At Moffitt, staying ahead of cancer means having every resource possible to predict what it will do next. Collecting data is crucial for successful implementation of evolutionary-based therapies. Our Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy combines computational informatics and mathematical modeling, allowing us to deliver the right therapy at the right time. Every new tool that allows our oncologists to analyze tumors with greater precision means we can bring lifesaving therapies to our patients sooner.
Learn more about the Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy (PDF)
Current Paradigm (For Metastatic Disease)
- Treatments are fixed for each cancer type
- Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) Strategy
- More drug means more side effects
- Rapidly leads to drug resistance
- Doesn't view cancer as an evolving system
New Evolutionary Therapy Paradigm
- Use mathematics to optimize treatment
- patient specific evolutionary treatments
- Change treatments based on response
- Maximum Effective Dose (MED) Strategy
- Longer responses using less drug
Dr. Sandy Anderson is the Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy Director and serves as Chair of Integrated Mathematical Oncology (IMO). Dr. Anderson performed his doctoral work on hybrid mathematical models of nematode movement in heterogeneous environments at the Scottish Crop Research Institute in Dundee, UK.
Dr. Robert Gatenby is a co-founder of the Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy. Understanding the unpredictability of cancer, he pushed to create the Center of Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy, using mathematical models and computer simulations to better understand drug resistance to cancer.
Members:
David Basanta Gutierrez, PhD
Joel Brown, PhD
Jimmy Caudell, PhD
Christine Chung, MD
John Cleveland, PhD
Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD
Louis Harrison, MD
Frederick Locke, MD
Conor Lynch, PhD
Karen Mann, PhD
Andriy Marusyk, PhD
Eric Padron, MD
Katarzyna Rejniak, PhD
Ariosto Silva, PhD
Robert Wenham, MD
Jingsong Zhang, PhD