System and method for identification of a synthetic classifier

A method for identifying a synthetic classifier, the method comprising:

• contacting at least a first sample and a second sample with a first plurality of peptides,
• wherein:
• the first sample is derived from a first group of a cohort,
• the second sample derived from a second group of the cohort,
• the first group being different from the second group, and
• at least a portion of the first plurality of peptides consists of at least one naturally occurring amino acid sequence;
• selecting a first subset of peptides from the first plurality of peptides;
• contacting at least the first sample and the second sample with a second plurality of peptides,
• wherein:
• at least a portion of the second plurality of peptides consists of a plurality of variant peptides of the first subset of peptides, and
• each of the plurality of variant peptides is a synthetic peptide having at least one of a substitution, a deletion, an insertion, an extension, and a modification relative to a corresponding one of the first subset of peptides;
• and
• selecting a second subset of peptides from the second plurality of peptides,
• wherein:
• the second subset of peptides comprises at least one of the plurality of variant peptides,
• the synthetic classifier comprises the second subset of peptides, and
• the synthetic classifier distinguishes between a sample derived from the first group and a sample derived from the second group.