Examples of Integrated Biological Systems
Human Health as a Multi-Scale System.
Biology and its applications to medicine and human health are at the threshold
of an exciting era that is driven by innovative new technologies that
allow insight into the mechanisms of life with clarity and resolution
unimagined just a decade ago. Among these technologies is the development
of large-scale, high-throughput methods of analysis that permit the simultaneous
measurement of thousands of features in a cell or organism, which, together
with computational simulations, yield a deep understanding of how living
systems function-or malfunction. Similarly, the miniaturization and creation
of new materials makes it possible to diagnose non-invasively normal and
abnormal conditions within living systems or even within individual cells.
Just as microchips revolutionized electronic technology, micro- and nanodevices
are changing the face of biomedical sensors, while at the same time synthetic
biology is transforming the discovery and production of new medicines
and vaccines. The Frontiers conference will provide a glimpse
of how inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches will change the diagnosis
and treatment of disease and how advances in science, engineering and
computing will soon permit predictive and personalized medicine for dreaded
diseases such as cancer. Today's treatments crudely remove tumors by surgery
or indiscriminately kill healthy tissue along with the targeted cancer
cells. The vision for tomorrow's medicine includes imaging techniques
based on nano-sensors that identify diseased cells at their earliest,
most treatable stage. Then, guided by a deep understanding of the underlying
biological system, the defect causing the disease, a faulty signal or
a malfunctioning control mechanism, can be corrected with a targeted therapy
that restores health.
Systems in Neuroscience. Of all the biomedical sciences,
neuroscience has had one of the longest and richest traditions of quantitative
analysis and modeling, starting with the pioneering experimental and modeling
work of Hodgkin and Huxley, for which they shared the Nobel Prize in 1963.
Today, computational modeling is a widely accepted method in many neuroscience
labs, and combined analytical-computational studies are commonplace in
leading neuroscience journals. While a large portion of such studies are
focused at the level of the electrical dynamics of the nerve membrane
and networks of neurons, there is increased recognition of the need to
"tunnel" down and model second messenger pathways, effects of neuromodulators,
the dynamics of synaptogenesis, and neural-activity dependent gene expression,
to name a few. These problems offer new and exciting directions for researchers
that link general systems biological methods with specific modeling techniques
developed in neuroscience. The long-term goal of this combined approach
is a deeper, multi-level, multi-faceted understanding of the functioning
of nerve systems, including the brain, and of the development and progression
of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.
The Frontiers conference will feature different aspects of systems
approaches to neuroscience that span several level, from the genome to
the human brain.
Ecological and Environmental Systems. Most of the technology presentations will include applications to specific biological systems, primarily at the cellular and sub-cellular levels. To complement this focus and round out the scope of integrative biological systems, presentations will additionally highlight environmental systems. Microbes have been closely intertwined with
natural environmental systems for nearly the entire Earth history. Their
small size, coupled with remarkable genetic and metabolic versatilities,
permit microorganisms to inhabit an extreme range of habitats. Decades
of biochemical and functional genetics research on microorganisms from
diverse environmental niches have led to insights into molecular mechanisms
and qualitative cell behavior. Applying an integrative approach to understanding
microbial systems in a quantitative fashion beyond the properties
of the individual cellular components is the next frontier. Unicellular
microorganisms and their communities are particularly well suited for
such a systems biological approach due to their relatively low complexity,
easy access to manipulation, and multitudinous interactions with environmental
health and human wellbeing.
As a key component of IBSI, the Frontiers conference will highlight
enabling technologies for the analysis of ecological and environmental
systems that will allow the construction of predictive mathematical models
for human-environmental interactions and sustainability.