BIOMAP

BIOMAP

Biomarkers in Atopic Dermatitis and Psoriasis

 

The key concept of the BIOMAP consortium is that atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis (Pso) are heterogeneous diseases comprising a variety of subtypes which share common clinical characteristics but arise from distinct and definable molecular and cellular mechanisms, i.e. endotypes, some of which might overlap. The concept builds on emerging yet preliminary evidence from molecular research of consortium members, e.g. on pustular Pso19 and distinctly different AD trajectories20. Understanding these shared and unique mechanisms will lead to the identification of biomarkers for patient stratification and enable reasonably accurate prediction of disease onset, progression and response to therapy for appropriate selection of type and timing of intervention (decision support) to reach a higher degree of disease control (across patients and within individual patients)(Fig. 1). The overarching aims therefore are to characterize key pathophysiological mechanisms by systematically comparing and contrasting AD and Pso on different molecular levels in different tissues and over time, in order to define clinically relevant endotypes and to identify associated signatures and biomarkers predicting relevant outcomes

Within the BIOMAP project, the Biomedical Informatics research group (headed by Dr. Vittorio Fortino) will contribute to the development of computational methods for multi-omics data modelling, with a particular focus on computer-driven refinement of disease subtypes and biomarker discovery.