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34 changes: 34 additions & 0 deletions _data/contributors.yml
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proposal: /assets/docs/Aditya_Pandey_GSoC2025.pdf
mentors: Martin Vassilev, Jonas Rembser, Fons Rademakers, Vassil Vassilev

- name: Salvador de la Torre Gonzalez

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info: "Google Summer of Code 2025 Contributor"
photo: salva_de_la_torre_gonzalez.jpg
email: [email protected]
github: "https://github.com/salva24"

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linkedin: "https://www.linkedin.com/in/salva-de-la-torre-gonzalez-7299b6335/"

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education: "Mathematics and Computer Engineering, University of Seville, Spain"
active: 1
projects:
- title: "Agent-Based Simulation of CAR-T Cell Therapy Using BioDynaMo"

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status: Ongoing
description: |
Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has shown great promise
in treating hematological cancers by harnessing the immune system to target
and eliminate tumor cells. However, its effectiveness in solid tumors remains
limited due to challenges such as poor T-cell infiltration, immune suppression,
and T-cell exhaustion. This project aims to develop a scalable, agent-based

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simulation of CAR-T therapy using BioDynaMo, a high-performance, open-source

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Possible typo: 'BioDynaMo' in line: simulation of CAR-T therapy using BioDynaMo, a high-performance, open-source
biological simulation platform. The simulation will model key aspects of CAR-T
dynamics, including T-cell migration, tumor cell engagement, and the influence
of microenvironmental factors like hypoxia, regulatory T-cells, and

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immunosuppressive cytokines. By simulating various tumor types, including solid

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tumors and leukemias, the model will explore treatment variables such as CAR-T
dosage, timing of administration, and combination strategies like checkpoint
inhibitors and cytokine support. The project will deliver a complete and
well-documented BioDynaMo-based simulation modeling CAR-T cell therapy,
custom analysis scripts for visualizing tumor regression and evaluating CAR-T
efficacy, performance benchmarking across therapeutic strategies, and a detailed
report summarizing insights and future directions. This approach will provide
valuable insights for optimizing CAR-T therapies, particularly in complex tumor
microenvironments.
proposal: /assets/docs/de_la_torre_gonzalez_salvador_proposal_gsoc_2025.pdf
mentors: Vassil Vassilev, Lukas Breitwieser

- name: "This could be you!"
photo: rock.jpg
info: See <a href="/careers">openings</a> for more info
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10 changes: 10 additions & 0 deletions _pages/team/salvador-delatorre.md
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---
title: "Compiler Research - Team - Salvador de la Torre Gonzalez"
layout: gridlay
excerpt: "Compiler Research: Team members"
sitemap: false
permalink: /team/SalvadorDeLaTorreGonzalez
email: [email protected]
---

{% include team-profile.html %}
64 changes: 64 additions & 0 deletions _posts/2025-05-14-biodynamo-cart-simulation.md
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---
title: "Agent-Based Simulation of CAR-T Cell Therapy Using BioDynaMo"
layout: post
excerpt: "This GSoC 2025 project, Agent-Based Simulation of CAR-T Cell Therapy, aims to develop a BioDynaMo-based model to simulate CAR-T cell dynamics and interactions. The goal is to provide researchers with a tool to evaluate therapy efficacy and identify strategies to enhance treatment outcomes."
sitemap: true
author: Salvador de la Torre Gonzalez
permalink: blogs/gsoc25_salvador_introduction_blog/
banner_image: /images/blog/gsoc-banner.png
date: 2025-05-14
tags: gsoc BioDynaMo c++
---

### Introduction

I am Salvador de la Torre Gonzalez, a Mathematics and Computer Engineering student from the University of Seville, and a Google Summer of Code 2025 contributor who will be working on "Agent-Based Simulation of CAR-T Cell Therapy Using BioDynaMo project.

**Mentors**: Vassil Vassilev, Lukas Breitwieser

### Briefly about CAR-T Cell Therapy and BioDynaMo

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (**CAR-T**) therapy is a promising immunotherapy that reprograms a patient’s T-cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. While CAR-T has achieved remarkable success in blood cancers, its efficacy in solid tumors remains limited due to factors such as poor T-cell infiltration, immune suppression, and T-cell exhaustion.

This project will be built on **BioDynaMo**, an open-source, high-performance simulation engine for large-scale agent-based biological modeling. BioDynaMo provides an efficient framework for modeling cellular dynamics and complex microenvironments at scale, making it ideally suited for simulating CAR-T therapies under diverse tumor conditions.

The simulation will capture essential components of CAR-T behavior, including T-cell migration, tumor cell engagement, and the influence
of microenvironmental factors like hypoxia, regulatory T-cells, and immunosuppressive cytokines. The goal is not only to provide the simulation, but also custom analysis scripts for visualizing and testing how therapy parameters influence treatment outcomes.

### Why I Chose This Project

This project represents an exciting opportunity to apply my dual academic background in mathematics and computer engineering to a highly impactful domain: cancer immunotherapy.

My interest in oncology and CAR-T treatments deepened significantly after attending a course on Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis in Oncology, taught by researchers from the Mathematical Oncology Laboratory" ([MôLAB](https://molab.es/)) team at the University of Cádiz. During this course, I was introduced to the fundamentals of immunotherapy and CAR-T cell dynamics, and became fascinated by the potential of mathematical and computational tools to contribute to this area.

I believe that building a scalable, open-source simulation of CAR-T therapy can become a valuable resource for scientists and clinicians worldwide, helping them to better understand and optimize treatment strategies considering the complex landscape of solid tumors.

### Implementation Details and Plans

This project will develop a scalable agent-based simulation of CAR-T therapy using BioDynaMo. The simulation will include:

- T-cell migration, proliferation, and tumor cell killing,
- Simulation of both solid tumors and hematological cancers,
- Modeling of tumor microenvironment components such as:
- Hypoxia,
- Regulatory T-cells,
- Immunosuppressive cytokines,
- Development of custom scripts for:
- Visualizing tumor progression/regression,
- Quantifying CAR-T efficacy,
- Exploration of therapy strategies including:
- CAR-T dosage and administration timing,
- Performance benchmarking for different therapeutic scenarios.

A modular architecture will ensure that the simulation is extensible and reusable in future studies. Insights gained from these simulations will be summarized in a comprehensive report including replication of real data and comparison between treatment strategy results.

### Conclusion

By building a BioDynaMo-based model of CAR-T cell therapy, we aim to provide a flexible and high-performance tool for exploring treatment strategies in complex tumor environments. This is really valuable work for the community since it could help identify conditions that enhance CAR-T efficacy, contributing to improved design of immunotherapies.


### Related Links

- [Project Description](https://hepsoftwarefoundation.org/gsoc/2025/proposal_BioDynamo-CART.html)
- [BioDynaMo Repository](https://github.com/BioDynaMo/biodynamo)
- [My GitHub Profile](https://github.com/salva24)
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