For the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine's October Research Seminar Series, Dr. David Quesada-Saliba presents preliminary findings from the Computational Clinical Systems Biology Group at INIM, examining how the loss of synchrony between the HPA axis, immune response, and mitochondrial function may drive the symptomatology observed in long COVID, ME/CFS, and chronic overlapping pain conditions. Drawing on data from the COVID-UPP Study, Dr. Quesada-Saliba walks through the statistical phenotyping of recovered and unrecovered participants, the use of machine learning tools including UMAP and t-SNE to identify latent illness classes, and the development of mechanistic mathematical models that simulate the crosstalk between viral load dynamics, cortisol regulation, cytokine activity, and mitochondrial function. The presentation establishes fatigue, post-exertional malaise, brain fog, and sleep disturbance as the central overlapping features across all three conditions, and introduces a framework for using computational modeling to predict illness trajectories and inform treatment strategy. Key points: 00:00 Introduction 03:02 Computational clinical systems biology overview 08:25 From acute COVID to long COVID and ME/CFS 10:07 U.S. and Florida long COVID prevalence 13:02 NIH RECOVER Initiative findings 14:33 Fatigue, brain fog, and sleep disturbance across conditions 16:56 Fatigue as a multi-pathway emergent symptom 18:08 COVID-UPP Study design and cohorts 23:09 Participant demographics 27:04 CDC symptom inventory: recovered vs. unrecovered 30:01 PROMIS inventory and effect size analysis 34:19 DePaul inventory: PEM, autonomic dysfunction, neuromuscular findings 35:55 Machine learning: PCA, UMAP, and t-SNE clustering 42:27 Recovery as a spectrum 45:14 Out-of-synchrony oscillations and systemic homeostasis 49:52 HPA axis cortisol dynamics and chronic stress 51:03 HPA model extended: neurotransmitters and brain fog 52:01 Cortisol awakening response and circadian gene circuitry 53:56 Mitochondrial dynamics under immune drive 55:03 Viral reactivation in the simulation framework 55:50 Cardiovascular and exercise challenge modeling 57:26 Biological network construction methodology 1:01:16 Cytokine and immune network differences by recovery status Dr. David Quesada-Saliba earned his PhD in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Havana, Cuba, after his studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University, from where he earned a master's in Science, Physics and Mathematics. After 10 years working for the Department of Theoretical Physics in the School of Physics at the University of Havana, he moved to Miami and was hired by St. Thomas University, where he worked for 16 years at the School of Science. In 2018, Dr. Quesada was appointed as the Chairperson of Mathematics at Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus. In 2023, he joined INIM, where he is currently leading the Computational Clinical System Biology group. He is interested in interdisciplinary applications of methods of Mathematical, Computational and Theoretical Physics and Data Science. His current interests include the application of methods of mathematical and statistical analysis to address medical conditions as Gulf War Illness, ME/CFS, Long-COVID, Viral Reactivation, Neuroinflammatory and Neurodegenerative conditions, and Metabolic Syndrome. He has actively engaged mentoring students participating in the Research Experience for Undergraduates at NSU, MDC, and St. Thomas University. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-quesada-saliba-phd-03101b1/ Thank you for tuning in to the Hope and Help For Fatigue and Chronic Illness Podcast. Sign up today for our newsletter. 👉 https://nova.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=419072c88a85f355f15ab1257&id=5e03a4de7d Enjoy our show? Please leave us a 5-star review on the following platforms so we can bring hope and help to others. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-and-help-for-fatigue-chronic-illness/id1724900423 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/154isuc02GnkPEPlWfdXMT This podcast is brought to you by the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine. Learn more about us here. Website: https://www.nova.edu/nim/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InstituteForNeuroImmuneMedicine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NSU_INIM/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/NSU_INIM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nsu_inim Your support goes a long way toward the advancement of clinical research. Donate here. 👉 https://www.nova.edu/nim/donations.html #HPAAxis #ComputationalBiology #SystemsBiology

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