The mission of MITOS is to develop the deep science of mitochondria that can support specific key investigations, design integrations to transform traditional approaches, and build general models and informatics that can lead to new therapies and new models of health, disease, aging, and wellness in order to build more complete understandings of physiology and its breakdowns.

The promise of nuclear DNA (genomics) was once thought to hold the answers to unlock the most devasting and persistent diseases. That has not happened. Understanding mitochondria may hold an important key elevating mitochondria to the true partner of the nucleus. Compromised energy, over production of reactive oxygen species (ROS or “free radicals”), inflammation, fatigue and other factors speak to the instability of mitochondria and mtDNA in the complex symbiosis within cells. The MITOS team and network argue full answers to medical cure require tooling up to understand that nuclear DNA is only half the answer. Without a full understanding of mitochondria and mtDNA and their complex interactions in the cell and with the nucleus, it impossible to get the full picture of health. By building that full picture, the chances increase of addressing the long-standing stagnation for cures. Also, we now know that human health rests on key factors such as what we eat, what we breathe, if we get enough sleep and if we exercise. All of these contribute to healthy mitochondria which lead to better human health and less disease and dysfunction.

MITOS is designed to lead the next revolution in health and medicine, following on the first two revolutions, also at the micro scale, genomics and the microbiome. Together, the three make up the important substrate underlying all of health, disease and wellness. The acronym MITOS stands for these key functions: Mitochondria, Informatics, Translation, Outreach and Science.

• Mitochondria: Increasing research of mitochondria across the full range of physiology

• Informatics: Deep AI mining of mitochondrial biology, biophysics, bioenergetics, biochemistry

• Translation: Defining models and methods leading to systemic search for therapies.

• Outreach: Public education, medical education, and research to raise awareness and funding

• Science: Build the basic science base to link mitochondria to the full range of cellular function

These five different activities offer a cohesive, collaborative, and core of distributed expertise and research and the hope of integration and transformation of traditional medicine.