PerSEveML: a web-based tool to identify persistent biomarker structure for rare events using an integrative machine learning approach†

Abstract

Omics data sets often pose a computational challenge due to their high dimensionality, large size, and non-linear structures. Analyzing these data sets becomes especially daunting in the presence of rare events. Machine learning (ML) methods have gained traction for analyzing rare events, yet there has been limited exploration of bioinformatics tools that integrate ML techniques to comprehend the underlying biology. Expanding upon our previously developed computational framework of an integrative machine learning approach, we introduce PerSEveML, an interactive web-based tool that uses crowd-sourced intelligence to predict rare events and determine feature selection structures. PerSEveML provides a comprehensive overview of the integrative approach through evaluation metrics that help users understand the contribution of individual ML methods to the prediction process. Additionally, PerSEveML calculates entropy and rank scores, which visually organize input features into a persistent structure of selected, unselected, and fluctuating categories that help researchers uncover meaningful hypotheses regarding the underlying biology. We have evaluated PerSEveML on three diverse biologically complex data sets with extremely rare events from small to large scale and have demonstrated its ability to generate valid hypotheses. PerSEveML is available at https://biostats-shinyr.kumc.edu/PerSEveML/ and https://github.com/sreejatadutta/PerSEveML.