Synthesizing Skin Tissue Images from Single-Cell Gene Expression Data Using a Generative Adversarial Network
Bhavana Rupakula
Lay Summary:
This project enhanced skin disease diagnosis by integrating high-resolution tissue imaging with detailed single-cell genetic analysis. Using this combined data, I trained a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to produce ultra-detailed images of the skin issue, surpassing the resolution of traditional methods and improving the clarity of disease characterisation.
Abstract:
The advancement of skin disease diagnosis and treatment has long been hindered by the limitations of conventional imaging and molecular analysis techniques. While whole slide images (WSIs) are detailed tissue samples, their resolution is constrained by standard slide scanners and imaging techniques. The inability to provide a comprehensive review of micro and macro level features of skin pathology fails to capture the complex spatial organization and heterogeneity of skin tissues, leading to incomplete or inaccurate disease characterization. This project aimed to address those challenges by integrating WSIs with applied Visium ST and single-cell RNA sequencing. Visium ST provides high-resolution spatial maps of gene-expression within tissue samples and the RNA sequencing offers a detailed profile of gene-expression at the single-cell level. To further enhance the effectiveness of the project, the data acquired from the integrated system was used to train a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) that generated high-resolution visual representations of the skin. The end-product resulted in images that surpassed the resolution of the initial WSIs, offering a more detailed visualization of the tissue microstructure and finer spatial organization.
Q&A:
Bios: Bhavana Rupakula
Program Track: Advanced Research
GitHub Username:
brr1008 -Bhavana Rupakula
What was your favorite seminar? Why?
The first seminar with Dr. Vaickus. This presentation introduced me to computational pathology, and it rekindled my interest in biology. -Bhavana Rupakula
If you were to summarize your summer internship experience in one sentence, what would it be?
I wish I could start over and be more productive. -Bhavana Rupakula