Note: this article originally appeared on the NCMM website: https://www.med.uio.no/ncmm/english/news-and-events/news/2022/The-Institute-for-Molecular-Medicine-Finland-FIMM-visits-NCMM

Liye builds machine learning models to identify synergistic and personalised drug combinations for cancer patients using different types of data, such as omics data. He visited the research group of Dr Anthony Mathelier at NCMM to learn in-depth from their expertise with methylation data and how it could be applied to his work of predicting drug responses.  

Cross-node collaboration in computational biology 

The Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) is a part of the Helsinki Institute of Life Science at the University of Helsinki and is the Finnish node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. For Liye, connecting with the Mathelier group presented the opportunity to expand his knowledge about the biological side of the project he is currently working on with experts in the field. He presented his work to the Mathelier group and had one-to-one sessions with researchers. 

— My background is in computer science, so meeting with Anthony’s group was really fruitful because I wanted to get expertise on how to use methylation data in my work. I got the chance to learn about methylation, to brainstorm ideas and to explore the potential for collaboration between our research group and Anthony’s group, Liye explained  

Nordic-based researchers should apply for NordForsk funding  

Liye received partial funding from NordForsk, with the remainder funded by his supervisor, to spend a week in Oslo, including a visit to NCMM.  
NordForsk is an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers that provides funding for and facilitates Nordic cooperation on research and research infrastructures. Funding of 2.5 million NOK was awarded to the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine by NordForsk as part of their ‘Nordic Research Infrastructure Hubs’ initiative in 2020. The grant enables a further strengthening of molecular medicine in the Nordic countries through the Nordic EMBL Partnership. It also enables the Partnership to better exploit its distributed infrastructures, whilst improving their accessibility and facilitating better knowledge exchange to ensure contemporary approaches in molecular medicine. Researchers within the nodes of the Nordic EMBL partnership can contact their supervisors to apply for funding through their institutions.  

Commenting on his experience with NordForsk Liye said: 

— I found the process of applying for the NordForsk funding to be very easy. I would encourage more people at institutions in the Nordic EMBL partnership to visit the different nodes! Face to face communication is important and researchers should explore potential collaborations between the Nordic nodes.