Systems Biology

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With the progress of genome sequencing and other -omics technologies, a wealth of multi-level data on the molecular nature of biological systems is being generated. Systems biology is a new approach to biological and biomedical research based on a more holistic perspective and relying on the use of mathematical and computational tools, complementing experiments in the lab. In biomedical science, ‘omics’ approaches have changed several paradigms, in particular, the use of single biomarkers in diagnostics and prognostics is shifting to the use of biomarker signatures, and the integration of different ‘omics’ data.

In this course, some basic knowledge and tools used in ‘systems biology’ will be taught including pathway and network analysis, metabolic modeling, and patient subtyping. The approaches will be applied to study the detailed molecular mechanisms affected in breast cancer patients.