A Message from the P.I.
Hi - I'm Muneesh Tewari, the P.I. (Principal Investigator) of our laboratory. I'll start with a bit of background about myself. I have been involved in scientific research for a while now, starting as a high school student in the 1980's and now as a Professor here at UM. Along the way I have picked up experiences and training in classical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, systems biology, complexity science/non-linear dynamics, genetics in model organisms (C. elegans and yeast), bioinformatics and computational biology, genome science, clinical medicine (Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology), as well as on entrepreneurship and fulfillment of human potential.
As you can see, I have broad interests! Accordingly, our research tends to be interdisciplinary involving lots of collaborators with diverse expertise. I'm currently most inspired about our research to support medicine and healthcare in evolving from a "reactive" system, to a "proactive" system. We are pursuing this through the discovery of relevant new biology, development and application of new concepts and technologies, and integration of diverse approaches and data to achieve much better prediction and early detection of disease. In addition, I'm currently doing a "pilot phase" exploration of how we might extend our research to include dynamic assessment of human consciousness (e.g., states of mind and feeling) and its impact on physiology and disease.
Underlying all of this is my long-standing interest in expanding human awareness and fulfilling human potential. Einstein famously said that we cannot solve our problems without raising our level of thinking, beyond the level of thinking that created them. I feel this applies to both science as a discipline of exploration and learning, and to each of us in our own, personal life journeys. It's my conviction that our greatest progress and fulfillment as a species and as individuals comes from raising our level of thinking and awareness. We pursue this in our lab through research to support the evolution of medicine to a more "pro-active" version, as well as by putting attention to our own, individual evolution to our human potentials.
Hi - I'm Muneesh Tewari, the P.I. (Principal Investigator) of our laboratory. I'll start with a bit of background about myself. I have been involved in scientific research for a while now, starting as a high school student in the 1980's and now as a Professor here at UM. Along the way I have picked up experiences and training in classical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, systems biology, complexity science/non-linear dynamics, genetics in model organisms (C. elegans and yeast), bioinformatics and computational biology, genome science, clinical medicine (Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology), as well as on entrepreneurship and fulfillment of human potential.
As you can see, I have broad interests! Accordingly, our research tends to be interdisciplinary involving lots of collaborators with diverse expertise. I'm currently most inspired about our research to support medicine and healthcare in evolving from a "reactive" system, to a "proactive" system. We are pursuing this through the discovery of relevant new biology, development and application of new concepts and technologies, and integration of diverse approaches and data to achieve much better prediction and early detection of disease. In addition, I'm currently doing a "pilot phase" exploration of how we might extend our research to include dynamic assessment of human consciousness (e.g., states of mind and feeling) and its impact on physiology and disease.
Underlying all of this is my long-standing interest in expanding human awareness and fulfilling human potential. Einstein famously said that we cannot solve our problems without raising our level of thinking, beyond the level of thinking that created them. I feel this applies to both science as a discipline of exploration and learning, and to each of us in our own, personal life journeys. It's my conviction that our greatest progress and fulfillment as a species and as individuals comes from raising our level of thinking and awareness. We pursue this in our lab through research to support the evolution of medicine to a more "pro-active" version, as well as by putting attention to our own, individual evolution to our human potentials.
Tewari Lab
The Tewari lab is focused on answering the question; how can we use non-invasive techniques for early detection and prediction in medicine? There are multiple ways to study disease. Tissue biopsies are a classic method to investigate tumors, but have limitations both with respect to risk to the patient as well as limitations on how frequently they can be done. We use "liquid biopsies", by sampling biofluids such as blood and urine, to measure a range of potential information-carrying molecules (e.g., amounts of specific DNA or RNA sequences derived from the tumor that reach such biofluids). This allows for not only a less invasive measurement, but also a sampling technique that is more easily repeated and practical for the patient. We are also using wearable sensors to measure physiologic parameters such as temperature, heart rate and physical activity within an individual across time. We hypothesize that such measurements, in combination with molecular biomarkers, can establish subject-specific baselines and be used to better predict the onset of disease in different individuals.
Our projects span a range of diseases including prediction of graft-versus-host disease of the gut in bone marrow transplant patients, prediction and early detection of CAR-T cell immunotherapy toxicity in cancer patients, and detection of a number of types of cancer (e.g., colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome patients, early detection of recurrence in pediatric cancer patients). In order to propel the field forward in the use of these liquid biopsies and biomarkers we stay at the forefront of molecular technology, utilizing next generation sequencing and digital PCR, along with developing new technologies with collaborators across campus to enable increased sensitivity, specificity and speed of analysis for broad clinical application. We also keep an eye out for paths to commercialize what we learn and develop in our laboratory, in order to bring it to real-world application.
To accomplish our goals, we strive to maintain an environment that fosters excellence not only in the research of the lab, but also in us individuals. Through lab retreats, and the occasional lunch party, we have fun learning more about every member of the group and ways we can continue to evolve both ourselves and how we work together as a team. Check out our careers page or contact us if you want to learn more about our lab or if you are interested in joining our team.
Our projects span a range of diseases including prediction of graft-versus-host disease of the gut in bone marrow transplant patients, prediction and early detection of CAR-T cell immunotherapy toxicity in cancer patients, and detection of a number of types of cancer (e.g., colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome patients, early detection of recurrence in pediatric cancer patients). In order to propel the field forward in the use of these liquid biopsies and biomarkers we stay at the forefront of molecular technology, utilizing next generation sequencing and digital PCR, along with developing new technologies with collaborators across campus to enable increased sensitivity, specificity and speed of analysis for broad clinical application. We also keep an eye out for paths to commercialize what we learn and develop in our laboratory, in order to bring it to real-world application.
To accomplish our goals, we strive to maintain an environment that fosters excellence not only in the research of the lab, but also in us individuals. Through lab retreats, and the occasional lunch party, we have fun learning more about every member of the group and ways we can continue to evolve both ourselves and how we work together as a team. Check out our careers page or contact us if you want to learn more about our lab or if you are interested in joining our team.
