ToolUniverse

AI-driven patient-to-trial matching for precision oncology and rare-disease care. Transforms a patient's molecular profile (mutations, biomarkers, expression) and clinical state into ranked clinical-trial recommendations with evidence tiers. Searches ClinicalTrials.gov, the EU CTIS register (European/EEA trials), AND the ISRCTN registry (UK/international) plus cross-references CIViC, OpenTargets, ChEMBL, and FDA labels. Use for matching patients to trials by genotype, biomarker-driven trial selection, trial-eligibility scoring, and finding trials across the US, Europe, and the UK.

Install, set up, verify, update, pin, uninstall, or troubleshoot the ToolUniverse plugin on OpenAI Codex. ALWAYS consult this skill for any of those — don't answer from memory, because the exact marketplace name (mims-harvard/ToolUniverse), the "codex plugin marketplace add" then "codex plugin add -m tooluniverse" flow, Codex's startup auto-upgrade behavior, the uvx tooluniverse MCP server, and the API-key env vars are easy to get wrong. Use it whenever someone wants to get ToolUniverse (or "the 1000+ scientific tools" / "the harvard tools") working on Codex, says the Codex plugin or its tools/skills won't load, hits a uvx or MCP-server startup error, asks how Codex updates it, wants to pin or remove it, or finds it running an old tool version — even if they never say the word "plugin". Not for the Claude Code plugin (use tooluniverse-claude-code-plugin), for running research with the tools, or for authoring new tools or skills.

Install, set up, verify, update, pin, uninstall, or troubleshoot the ToolUniverse plugin on OpenAI Codex. ALWAYS consult this skill for any of those — don't answer from memory, because the exact marketplace name (mims-harvard/ToolUniverse), the "codex plugin marketplace add" then "codex plugin add -m tooluniverse" flow, Codex's startup auto-upgrade behavior, the uvx tooluniverse MCP server, and the API-key env vars are easy to get wrong. Use it whenever someone wants to get ToolUniverse (or "the 1000+ scientific tools" / "the harvard tools") working on Codex, says the Codex plugin or its tools/skills won't load, hits a uvx or MCP-server startup error, asks how Codex updates it, wants to pin or remove it, or finds it running an old tool version — even if they never say the word "plugin". Not for the Claude Code plugin (use tooluniverse-claude-code-plugin), for running research with the tools, or for authoring new tools or skills.

Cross-species gene comparison and ortholog analysis. Integrates Ensembl Compara orthologs, NCBI Gene, UniProt, OLS, Monarch, and OpenTargets to identify orthologs, paralogs, sequence conservation, functional conservation across species, and lineage-specific gene gains/losses. Use for phylogenetic gene tracing, model-organism mapping, and evolutionary-genomics queries.

Cross-species gene comparison and ortholog analysis. Integrates Ensembl Compara orthologs, NCBI Gene, UniProt, OLS, Monarch, and OpenTargets to identify orthologs, paralogs, sequence conservation, functional conservation across species, and lineage-specific gene gains/losses. Use for phylogenetic gene tracing, model-organism mapping, and evolutionary-genomics queries.

Solve quantitative problems in biophysics — pharmacokinetics (PK volume of distribution, clearance, half-life), epidemiology (R0, attack rate), toxicology (LD50, NOAEL), population genetics (Hardy-Weinberg, Fst), enzyme kinetics (Michaelis-Menten), thermodynamics. Use for first-principles quantitative biology calculations, dose calculations, exposure assessment, and biophysical-property estimation.

Analyze CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screens — MAGeCK gene-level scores, sgRNA count QC, replicate correlation, hit prioritization, and pathway GSEA on screen output. Use for genome-wide essentiality screens, synthetic-lethality discovery, dropout vs positive-selection screen analysis, target identification, and resistance-screen interpretation. Includes screen-QC and statistical thresholds.

Analyze CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screens — MAGeCK gene-level scores, sgRNA count QC, replicate correlation, hit prioritization, and pathway GSEA on screen output. Use for genome-wide essentiality screens, synthetic-lethality discovery, dropout vs positive-selection screen analysis, target identification, and resistance-screen interpretation. Includes screen-QC and statistical thresholds.

Install or update ToolUniverse in Claude Science — create the conda env, install the tooluniverse pip package, and (re)build the tooluniverse-research skill by fetching the current workflow library from GitHub. Use for first-time setup, upgrading the ToolUniverse version, refreshing the bundled workflows after an upstream release, or reinstalling on a new machine.

Add custom local tools to ToolUniverse alongside the 1000+ built-in tools. Covers JSON-config tools (simplest, no code), Python class tools (REST/SOAP/GraphQL APIs, computational logic), and best-practices for return schemas. Use for wrapping new APIs, adding domain-specific computations, or contributing tools to the registry.

Integrate computed statistical results (DEGs, GWAS hits, associations) with biological context from ToolUniverse databases (UniProt, GO, Reactome, ClinVar, OpenTargets). Use for adding gene function/pathway/disease annotations to a result list, building biological narrative around statistical findings, and going beyond p-values to mechanism.

Integrate computed statistical results (DEGs, GWAS hits, associations) with biological context from ToolUniverse databases (UniProt, GO, Reactome, ClinVar, OpenTargets). Use for adding gene function/pathway/disease annotations to a result list, building biological narrative around statistical findings, and going beyond p-values to mechanism.

Find and evaluate research datasets for any scientific question. Maps research questions to required study designs (longitudinal vs cross-sectional, observational vs experimental, single-cohort vs multi-cohort). Use when the user asks 'find data about X', 'where can I get data on Y', or needs a specific cohort/survey/repository. Covers GEO, ArrayExpress, dbGaP, NHANES, UK Biobank, ClinicalTrials.gov, GWAS Catalog, and 30+ scientific repositories.

Find and evaluate research datasets for any scientific question. Maps research questions to required study designs (longitudinal vs cross-sectional, observational vs experimental, single-cohort vs multi-cohort). Use when the user asks 'find data about X', 'where can I get data on Y', or needs a specific cohort/survey/repository. Covers GEO, ArrayExpress, dbGaP, NHANES, UK Biobank, ClinicalTrials.gov, GWAS Catalog, and 30+ scientific repositories.

Universal data access patterns for downloading and parsing scientific data when ToolUniverse tools don't cover the source, only return metadata, or you need bulk records. Use for VCF/h5ad/BAM/SDF/GCT parsing, multi-step API workflows (search to filter to download to parse), thousands of records at once, or sources with no dedicated tool. Write Python code via Bash for every step.

Universal data access patterns for downloading and parsing scientific data when ToolUniverse tools don't cover the source, only return metadata, or you need bulk records. Use for VCF/h5ad/BAM/SDF/GCT parsing, multi-step API workflows (search to filter to download to parse), thousands of records at once, or sources with no dedicated tool. Write Python code via Bash for every step.

Diagnostic test / biomarker accuracy — sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, likelihood ratios, accuracy from a 2x2 table; ROC curve, AUC, and the optimal cutoff (Youden) for a continuous biomarker; and post-test probability via Bayes. Use when you have test results vs a gold standard (binary 2x2, or a continuous score + true labels) and need to judge how good the test is, pick a threshold, or compute the probability of disease given a result. Emphasizes the prevalence-dependence of PPV/NPV.

Diagnostic test / biomarker accuracy — sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, likelihood ratios, accuracy from a 2x2 table; ROC curve, AUC, and the optimal cutoff (Youden) for a continuous biomarker; and post-test probability via Bayes. Use when you have test results vs a gold standard (binary 2x2, or a continuous score + true labels) and need to judge how good the test is, pick a threshold, or compute the probability of disease given a result. Emphasizes the prevalence-dependence of PPV/NPV.

Generate comprehensive disease research reports covering genetics (causal genes, GWAS, OMIM), pathways (Reactome, KEGG), drugs (existing therapies, repurposing candidates), clinical trials, epidemiology (prevalence, incidence), and phenotypes (HPO). Use for full disease overviews, comprehensive disease characterization, and orphan/rare-disease profiling.

Generate comprehensive disease research reports covering genetics (causal genes, GWAS, OMIM), pathways (Reactome, KEGG), drugs (existing therapies, repurposing candidates), clinical trials, epidemiology (prevalence, incidence), and phenotypes (HPO). Use for full disease overviews, comprehensive disease characterization, and orphan/rare-disease profiling.

Dose-response / concentration-response curve fitting — IC50, EC50, Hill slope, Emax/Emin efficacy, and relative potency from paired concentration vs response data (enzyme/cell assays, drug screening, agonist/antagonist pharmacology). Fits the 4-parameter logistic (Hill sigmoidal) model. Use when you have concentrations + responses and need a potency value, to compare two compounds' potency, or to judge curve quality. NOT for image-derived dose-response (use tooluniverse-image-analysis) and NOT for survival/regression (use tooluniverse-statistical-modeling).

Assess drug-drug interactions — CYP metabolic interactions (substrate/inhibitor/inducer), transporter (P-gp, BCRP, OATP) effects, pharmacodynamic synergy/antagonism, clinical significance scoring, and management recommendations. Use for polypharmacy review, prescribing decision support, and safety analysis when adding or switching drugs.

Trace drug mechanism of action — primary target → downstream signaling → pathway perturbation → tissue/organ effect → clinical outcome. Uses DrugBank, ChEMBL, KEGG, Reactome, STRING. Use for understanding how a drug works, identifying off-target effects, mechanism-based combination therapy design, and writing mechanism sections of reports.

Trace drug mechanism of action — primary target → downstream signaling → pathway perturbation → tissue/organ effect → clinical outcome. Uses DrugBank, ChEMBL, KEGG, Reactome, STRING. Use for understanding how a drug works, identifying off-target effects, mechanism-based combination therapy design, and writing mechanism sections of reports.

Drug regulatory and approval research — FDA substance registry, ATC/EPC classification, EMA decisions, generic-drug status, FDA Orange Book exclusivity, NDA/BLA pathways. Use for jurisdiction-aware approval status (FDA vs EMA), generic vs brand availability, exclusivity expiry tracking, and regulatory pathway selection. Always specifies the market when reporting status.