The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is awarding $21 million to launch the Computational Modeling of Hormone Homeostasis Initiative, a research program designed to advance computer-based methods for modeling and simulating the self-regulating processes of human hormones, known as hormone homeostasis.
The initiative will support development of human-based, data-driven computational models tailored to the complex physiology of men and women. According to NIH, hormone activity can vary widely and contribute to differences in dosing, treatment response, and drug toxicity.
Modeling hormone changes across the lifespan
Sex hormones interact with multiple tissues and body systems beyond reproductive tissues, including the lungs, bones, and immune system. Changes in hormone homeostasis during puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can trigger systemic responses and long-term changes throughout the body.
The program will support computational techniques that account for these sex-specific and life-course changes while modeling multiple organ systems. Funded approaches include interactive machine learning, multi-scale models, AI-enhanced multi-scale models, physics-informed models of mechanical stress response and tissue remodeling, and virtual replicas of biological systems known as digital twins.
“Current mathematical and animal models do not sufficiently capture variations between men and women. Addressing this gap is critical to the understanding of sex-specific biology and the development of more individualized approaches to therapeutics,” said Nicole Kleinstreuer, PhD, NIH deputy director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, in a press release.
Kleinstreuer added, “By leveraging advanced computer-based models that use human biological data to simulate hormone activity across the lifespan, we can help researchers improve the evaluation of new treatments and support more informed clinical decisions.”
The initiative will focus on developing sex-specific models that can be used to test drugs and therapeutics for effectiveness and toxicity.
“Accounting for sex as a biological variable (SABV) and expanding our understanding of the relationship between hormones and therapeutics using a lifespan perspective holds promise for streamlining drug and biologics testing and propelling bench-to-bedside translation,” said Janine Clayton, MD, FARVO, NIH associate director for Research on Women’s Health, in a press release. “This forward-looking program exemplifies the power of applying SABV principles to innovative methods to accelerate progress and amplify impact.”
Note: This news summary was generated by AI based on a published press release, followed by a review from human editors.
