CAII affiliate Aiman Soliman is helping drive a major breakthrough in cancer research through his long‑standing collaboration with University of Illinois professor Zeynep Madak‑Erdogan. Their work, supported by NCSA’s Health Innovation Program Office (HIPO), applies geospatial big data techniques to understand the internal architecture of tumors—an approach that is reshaping how scientists study cancer.
Soliman and Madak‑Erdogan recently published new findings in Cancer Research, introducing GIS‑ROTA, a tool that combines biological data with geographic mapping methods to pinpoint where specific biological functions occur inside a tumor. Instead of clustering cells by statistical similarity, GIS‑ROTA identifies biological “hotspots” and maps their exact spatial locations. This allows researchers to see how metabolic activity, hormone response, and other pathways converge within distinct tumor regions.
By revealing this fine‑grained spatial structure, GIS‑ROTA supports more personalized cancer treatment, enabling clinicians to understand how different therapies may affect different parts of a single tumor. The method also works with very small clinical samples—critical for real‑world medical research.
This project highlights the impact of interdisciplinary collaboration across NCSA, CAII affiliates, and campus researchers. As Maria Jaromin, HIPO’s interim director notes, pairing geospatial data science with nutrition and cancer biology has opened the door to innovative approaches and meaningful scientific advances.
For the full article please see: https://www.ncsa.illinois.edu/2026/06/23/mapping-tumors-for-better-treatment/ by Megan Meave Johnson