Douglas Flora, Executive Medical Director of Yung Family Cancer Center at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, President-Elect of the Association of Cancer Care Centers, and Editor in Chief of AI in Precision Oncology, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“The Forest, Not Just the Tree
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir
For too long, oncology has been the study of the “tree” – the solitary tumor. We scrutinize its mutations, its shape, and its size, often treating it as an isolated bad actor.
But a skilled ecologist knows that the health of a tree is never just about the tree. It is about the soil chemistry, the canopy above, the underground fungal networks, and the subtle shifts in the ecosystem that sustain or starve it.
Our bodies are no different. They are vast, interconnected forests.
In my latest editorial for the new issue of AI in Precision Oncology, I discuss why we must shift our gaze from the single tree to the entire ecosystem. This is the era of Systems Biology. We are finally moving beyond reactive weed-pulling to understanding the complex “code” of health – the dynamic flows of proteins, metabolites, and genes that predict a storm long before it breaks.
AI is the lens that finally allows us to see this forest in its entirety.”
Title: AI and Multi-Omics Reveal the Code of Health
Author: Doug Flora
Read the full editorial here.
More posts featuring Douglas Flora on OncoDaily.