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Site:
Université Libre De Bruxelles
Faculté des Sciences, Service of Physical Chemistry
Building NO, Boulevar du Triomphe
B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Date visited:
July 8, 2004
WTEC Attendees:
M. Cassman (report author), A. Arkin, F. Doyle, F. Heineken, H. Ali
Hosts:
Albert Goldbeter, Tel: +32-2-650-5772, e-mail: agoldbet@ulb.ac.be
BACKGROUND:
The Free University of Brussels (the French part, ULB) has about 20,000 students, with the Faculty of
Science including a variety of disciplines, but not medicine, which has a separate Faculty. There is also a
Faculty of Engineering, with several groups interested in biological systems. The University has a long
tradition of theoretical biology, initiated by eminent scientists such as the late Ilya Prigogine (1917-2003),
winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, who was on the faculty. Dr. Goldbeter is in the Faculty of
Science, in the chemistry section, where most of the theoretical biology is located. The focus of his group is
the modeling of dynamic biological phenomena, particularly circadian rhythms and metabolic oscillations.
His section, within Physical Chemistry, is the Unit of Theoretical Chronobiology, and has 3 senior members:
besides himself, this Unit includes G. Dupont (Ca++ signaling) and J.C. Leloup (circadian rhythms). Other
scientists involved in Theoretical Biology, within the Service of Physical Chemistry, include M. Kaufman
(dynamics of regulatory gene networks and theoretical immunology); R. Thomas (logical analysis of
regulatory circuits in gene networks); R. Lefever (patterns of vegetation and theoretical ecology); J.C.
Deneubourg (theoretical and experimental study of social insects). Also involved in Theoretical Biology are
T. Erneux from physics (bifurcation analysis, neurobiology) and S. Swillens from medicine (Ca++
signaling). Additionally, there are similar modeling efforts in departments of oceanography, theoretical
ecology, and neurobiology. The ULB also has a research group in bioinformatics within the Faculty of
Science (S. Wodak, J. Van Helden). All in all, because of this long-standing tradition, the position of
theoretical biology at the ULB is a relatively strong one on the European scene. Although Dr. Goldbeter is
not himself an experimentalist, he has numerous collaborations with experimentalists both at the University
and elsewhere in Europe or the USA. The research is not focused around large collaborative efforts, but is
largely performed in small groups. Many of the above-mentioned groups are nevertheless part of Networks
of Excellence or Integrated Research Projects organized by the European Union.
There appears to be limited opportunity for expanding the research effort in the University. Full time
positions are hard to come by. (These are often filled through the Fond National de la Recherche (FNRS), an
NSF-equivalent. Two such tenured positions were recently provided to investigators in Dr. Goldbeter’s
group.) The University has recently appointed a young professor (J. Van Helden) in bioinformatics, who
joined the group of S. Wodak. Another professor recently appointed in the informatics department is G.
Bontempi, who also works in bioinformatics. There are few funds available for post-docs from grants, except
from the European Commission. Graduate students have other sources of support, including the possibility of
funds from the FNRS or from other governmental institutions.
The University is actively trying to adapt to the European Bologna agreement of 2002 which attempted to
synchronize higher education across Europe. The intent is to make it easier for students to move from one
University to another. The courses have standardized credit assignments to facilitate this. The agreement
provides for three years for the BS and two years for the MS (i.e. a total of five years, instead of a total of
four years currently required for obtaining the final “Licence” diploma), and three years for the Ph.D. (The
Ph.D. portion does not seem to be as well defined, based on other comments we heard during the trip.) In the
Faculty of Science to which Dr. Goldbeter belongs, an MS degree in Bioinformatics and Modeling is being
established. This would have three orientations, one of which would be chosen by the students during the
second year of the MS: “Classical” bioinformatics; computational structural biology; and modeling of
dynamic biological phenomena. Students will come from anywhere in the faculties of science and
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B. Site Reports
engineering. However, they may or may not have training in biology or mathematics/informatics prior to the
MS. During the first year of the MS courses are designed to remedy this, as well as the requirement to take
broad courses in each of the three orientations. The MS thesis would require 4-6 months of lab work. Like
the other MS programs, the MS in Bioinformatics and Modeling is scheduled to start in the academic year
2007-2008.
REFERENCES