BME 290: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering [3] Fall 2005 Wikswo
PHYS 350: Selected Topics in Theoretical Physics [3] Fall 2005 Wikswo
Theoretical and Experimental Systems Biology
Systems biology is an emergent field in science that arose from the realization that the shockwave of genetic and proteomic information must be addressed in an integrative manner. While Systems Biology has yet to have a universally acceptable definition, we adopt as a working definition “quantitative, postgenomic, postproteomic, dynamic, multiscale physiology.” Computer models are central to the field, but the greatest challenge of Systems Biology is that these models may eventually have millions or even moles of dynamic variables with complex nonlinear interactions. Historically, biological measurements have been made one at a time, every twenty minutes, suggesting that the specification of model parameters may pose a significant challenge to Systems Biology.
While microarray technologies allow the measurement of the expression profiles of thousands of genes, these data are far from sufficient to specify quantitative dynamic cellular signaling and metabolic models. Hence there are major gaps between the computational vision and experimental reality that must be bridged.
To facilitate the discussion, we dissect and project the multifaceted complexity of living systems as described by Systems Biology into five dimensions: (1) Molecular
Complexity; (2) Structural Complexity; (3) Temporal Complexity; (4) Abstraction and
Emergence; and (5) Algorithmic Complexity. This 5-dimensional space may provide a reference framework for comparing, classifying and complementing the diversity of research in Systems Biology. Using this framework, we will explore the experimental and computational strategies that must evolve as Systems Biology evolves into a coherent discipline. Emphasis will be directed towards the identification of techniques that might allow the simultaneous measurement and control of the dynamics of hundreds to thousands of intracellular and intercellular variables and the interpretation of the data in terms of the underlying biological systems.
This course will be structured as a combined lecture/seminar/journal club, with guest lecturers presenting current research in Systems Biology, students presenting detailed analyses of published articles in the field, and the group discussing strategies to address the multifaceted experimental and theoretical strategies that will be required to address the challenges of Systems Biology. The final student project will be the preparation and presentation of a proposal to address one or more of these challenges.
The course will tentatively meet from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM on MONDAYS, but alternative schedules will be considered. For further information, contact John Wikswo at john.wikswo@vanderbilt.edu
. As details are refined, additional information will be posted at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/viibre/Systems_Biology_Class_2005.html