PUZZLE MASTERS: The network of researchers that participate in DREAM-sponsored challenges provide pieces of the solution to important biomedical problems. Problems range from very basic science questions such as the inference of biological networks, to translational problems, such as models for disease prognosis and treatment response. To date DREAM has curated 32 open challenges. DANIEL MARBACH AND VALDO PEIXOTO
Statistician Liuxia Wang is in the business of prediction. At Sentrana Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based sales and marketing company, she uses data on consumers’ spending behaviors to forecast future trends in the food-service industry. But she never imagined her analytical expertise could be put to use helping patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the fatal neurodegenerative disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“At the end of the day, data is data, whether you’re using it to find the optimal price for certain products or estimating a disease’s course,” says Wang. “But it’s nice to be able to use predictive analytics to benefit patients.”
Working under the team name “Sentrana,” Wang and her colleague Guang “Eric” Li, a quantitative modeler, beat a global community ...
