A key challenge in molecular biology is understanding the regulatory mechanisms that enable specific phenotypes (e.g., bone or tendon regeneration) to occur. These regulatory mechanisms are the result of the coordinated action of regulatory and signaling proteins such as cell surface receptors, kinases, transcription factors, and others.

Key regulatory molecules not only offer valuable insights into how biological systems function but also provide actionable target molecules (“druggable targets”) for therapy. We and others have recently developed AI-based models of such regulatory processes that predict phenotypes (e.g., cancer or health) based on OMICS profiles (genomes, transcriptomes).

By training these models on datasets generated in Work Packages I and II, we identify regulatory molecules that could serve as therapeutic targets to improve bone and tendon regeneration.