PRECISE Consortium
From Dependency Maps to Predictive Principles of Cancer Vulnerability
PRECISE (Predictive Rules Explaining Cancer genetic Interactions and Synthetic Essentiality) is a pan-European scientific initiative in functional cancer genomics. Its goal is to transform cancer dependency mapping from the systematic cataloguing of gene essentiality into a predictive science of tumour vulnerabilities. By integrating large-scale perturbation experiments, multimodal phenotyping, and advanced computational modelling, the consortium seeks to derive generalisable principles that explain when, where, and why cancer dependencies arise.
Why PRECISE
Large-scale CRISPR screening efforts have generated extensive cancer dependency maps,
revealing thousands of essential genes and context-specific vulnerabilities. While transformative,
these atlases remain largely descriptive: they do not explain the mechanisms underlying dependencies,
nor do they enable reliable prediction in untested biological contexts.
Cancer vulnerabilities emerge from genetic interactions, cellular state, lineage, microenvironment,
and evolutionary history. PRECISE is established to address this gap by organising functional genomics
around mechanistic inference and prediction-first science, integrating perturbation data with
multimodal molecular readouts and advanced computational modelling.
Scientific Vision
PRECISE aims to transform functional cancer genomics from an observational discipline into a theory-driven science capable of inference, explanation, and generalisation. The consortium is founded on the premise that cancer dependencies are not random phenomena, but the logical consequences of molecular circuitry operating in specific biological states. If this logic can be inferred, vulnerabilities can be predicted, even in tumour contexts that have not yet been experimentally assayed.
European Landscape
Europe hosts a uniquely rich ecosystem of patient-derived organoids, clinical biobanks, advanced perturbation platforms, and computational expertise. PRECISE builds on this landscape, aligning biological diversity, technological breadth, and data infrastructure to enable predictive functional genomics at continental scale.
Origins
PRECISE emerged from scientific discussions held during and following the European Cancer Dependency Map (EuroDepMap) Symposia in Milan (2023, 2025). Closed workshops held in conjunction with these meetings brought together leading European scientists to articulate a shared scientific vision for the next phase of cancer dependency research.
Outlook
The consortium does not seek to build new institutions. It provides conceptual coherence: a shared vocabulary, shared scientific aims, and a shared framework for integrating evidence into mechanistic and predictive models. By aligning Europe’s distributed strengths around prediction, PRECISE aims to define the next generation of functional cancer genomics.