Journal article
Investigating Spatial Dynamics in Spatial Omics Data with StarTrail
Journal of the American Statistical Association, pp 1-12
07 Jul 2026
PMID: 42592147
Abstract
Spatial omics technologies revolutionize our view of biological processes within tissues. However, existing methods fail to capture localized, sharp changes characteristic of critical events (e.g., tumor development). Here, we present StarTrail, a novel gradient based method that powerfully defines rapidly changing regions and detects "cliff genes", genes exhibiting drastic expression changes at highly localized or disjoint boundaries. StarTrail, the first to leverage spatial gradients for spatial omics data, also quantifies directional dynamics. Across multiple datasets, StarTrail accurately delineates boundaries (e.g., brain layers, tumor-immune boundaries), and detects cliff genes that may regulate molecular crosstalk at these biologically relevant boundaries but are missed by existing methods. StarTrail, filling important gaps in current literature, enables deeper insights into tissue spatial architecture. Supplementary materials for this article are available online, including a standardized description of the materials available for reproducing the work.
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Details
- Title
- Investigating Spatial Dynamics in Spatial Omics Data with StarTrail
- Creators
- Jiawen Chen - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillCaiwei Xiong - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillQuan Sun - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillYutong Song - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillGeoffery W. Wang - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillGaorav P. Gupta - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillAritra Halder - Drexel UniversityYun Li - Univ North Carolina Chapel Hill, Dept Biostat, 3107C McGavran Greenberg Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USADidong Li (Corresponding Author) - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Publication Details
- Journal of the American Statistical Association, pp 1-12
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- HT94252310961 / Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research; United States Department of Defense
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001815001000001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105044089078
- Other Identifier
- 991022201735304721