Therapy Modeling & Design Center

Mathematical modeling is a powerful approach for pharmaceutical and biotechnology design. The Therapy Modeling and Design Center (TMDC) at the University of Minnesota – jointly run by the Biomedical Engineering, Mathematics, and Industrial & Systems Engineering departments – fosters inclusive collaboration between modelers and scientists engaged in therapy development. As we look toward a season of growth for the center, we envision a network of faculty working across departments and colleges united by a shared mission focused on applying mathematical modeling to accelerate UMN translational and clinical research.

Partnering for impact

TMDC will initially focus on oncology treatment design in partnership with faculty at the University of Minnesota Medical School. It will also pursue projects to explore the potential of modeling in new clinical spaces, such as prion diseases, metabolic diseases, and emergent infectious diseases. We anticipate that papers and preliminary results generated from these projects will have the potential to boost funding and partnerships. Most importantly, it is expected that TMDC will accelerate the therapy development process and improve success rates in clinical trials.

The center will be jointly run by three College of Science & Engineering (CSE) departments: Biomedical Engineering, Mathematics, and Industrial & Systems Engineering. The center’s founding leaders are Jasmine Foo (Mathematics), Kevin Leder (Industrial & Systems Engineering), and David Odde (Biomedical Engineering).

The center was made possible by funding from CSE and the Masonic Cancer Center. In addition, critical grant writing support is being provided through the Institute for Engineering in Medicine’s (IEM) Center Accelerator program and the Cancer Bioengineering Initiative.