Challenge
A client of Diamond Age (DA) wanted to evaluate the utility of emerging spatial transcriptomics technologies to advance their efforts in targeting treatments to specific body tissues. The client’s needs were two-fold: first, to address specific questions about their treatment in vivo, and second, to assess the technology for future use.
However, the internal team found themselves constrained by ongoing critical projects, and were hesitant to allocate valuable resources towards the evaluation of new technologies—a prevalent issue within the industry. Additionally, the team grappled with a lack of expertise to effectively assess these emerging technologies.
Action
The client enlisted DA’s support to evaluate these technologies on their behalf. DA was tasked with analyzing a pilot dataset to characterize transgene expression in different tissues. Drawing on their extensive experience with CosMx data, DA was able to quickly generate a preliminary analysis.
Given the complexity of the client’s experiments and the novel nature of the technology, DA recognized that a more advanced and scalable analysis was required beyond the standard software provided with the platform system. Working closely with the multidisciplinary client team, DA developed a more sophisticated analysis tailored to the company’s specific needs, creating custom-built code and new methods using R packages Seurat and Giotto.
Together, DA and the client formulated a detailed analysis plan. DA then produced a comprehensive report that included a thorough characterization of various anatomical features and cell types, presented through easy to comprehend figures and images to ensure clarity and accessibility.
Result
By leveraging DA’s expertise, the client not only addressed immediate questions about the success of their treatment in vivo, but also gained valuable insights into the potential of spatial transcriptomics technology for future applications—all with minimal investment. Pleased with the results, the client made a strategic investment in the technology to advance their drug discovery programs.