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For the five days of the 5th ICSB, from 9 to 13 October 2004, Heidelberg will be at the hub of systems biology. This conference, organized by DECHEMA Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, will highlight new, innovative approaches to successful biotechnological processes in medicine and industry. The event takes place under the auspices of Edelgard Bulmahn, the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, and is anticipated to attract over 600 experts from all over the world.
Will life become computable? Can scientists gain a quantitative understanding and develop a computer-based representation of cells and organs with their complex responses to environmental changes, during aging or in immune responses? Will it be feasible to simulate virtual cells in silico and model high affinity pharmaceuticals to individual targets inside those cells? What is the status of international projects, and how is the German funding initiative Systems of Life – Systems Biology cross-linked in the EU and in the German research landscape? Heidelberg, the home of the German Cancer Research Center, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the EML Research, a renowned `pioneer location´ in systems biology, has been chosen as the seat of this conference.
This year, the ICSB will open on 9 and 10 October 2004 with a two-day tutorial and workshop programme in the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. From 11 to 13 October, over 40 lectures will be held by distinguished experts on the topics metabolic systems, signal transduction, microbial systems biology, methods and software for systems biology, spatial models and systems biology for medicine in the Heidelberg Congress Centre. The Conference programme will be rounded off by a 330-strong poster presentation with an integrated exhibition featuring companies’ products and services.
The invited speakers include for example renowned experts, such as Prof. Denis Noble of Oxford University, UK, Prof. Bernhard O. Palsson of the University of California, San Diego, CA, USA, Prof. Marc Kirschner of Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA, and Prof. Masura Tomita of Keio University in Fujisawa, Japan.
Systems biology today - some facts and figures
Prof. Tomita is one of the pioneers in systems biology. With a Ph.D. in mathematics, computer science, and molecular biology, he was one of the first scientists world-wide to organise, using a systematic and quantitative approach, the massive amount of data generated by genomic and proteomic research. Prof. Tomita is director of the Institute for Advanced Bioscience at Keio University in Japan and initiated and coordinates the international e-cell project to model and simulate biological phenomena in silico.
In 1998, the e-cell project was successful in its attempt to develop an abstracted model of Mycoplasma genitalium with 127 genes in silico. This first software-based model of a complete cell had a minimal metabolism for glucose, proteins, and fatty acids and was hypothetically viable in a computer environment. Prof. Tomita’s current research interests are the modelling of chemotaxis in E. coli, of human erythrocytes, and of mitochondria. With his research, he not only laid foundation for systems biology but also became one of the mentors of synthetic biology.
Prof. Kirschner is director of the Department of Systems Biology, at Harvard Medical School. He is an expert in biochemistry, molecular and cell biology. Besides his scientific work, he was a dedicated advocate for an increase in federal funding for cell biological research as president of the ASCB during the 90s. His research is focused on the regulation of the cell cycle, the role of the cytoskeleton in morphogenesis, and developmental biology.
Marc Kirschner compares the processes in developing organisms with the script of a theater play. Timing is all: not only the cellular signals are important but the correct and timely interaction of the players involved is essential for a functional organism. Otherwise, a disaster is programmed that can lead to cell death or even cancer. From a systems biology research approach, Prof. Kirschner expects dramatic improvements in the understanding of the complex blueprint of life.
Prof. Noble holds a Ph.D. in physiology from University College London and is professor of cardiovascular physiology at Oxford University. He is head of the Oxford Cardiac Electrophysiology Group and has worked on modelling heart muscle cells and the functional principles of the heart muscle for more than 40 years. The combination of different heart muscle cell models has led to the development of a virtual heart organ that was used to develop new pharmaceuticals and defibrillation apparatus, and has demonstrated its predictive qualities in FDA approval studies.
Denis Noble is convinced that modelling and simulation are essential tools for developing an understanding of complex biological systems. His opinion is that despite all computational techniques in modern bio-sciences, the lab-experiment and the step-wise improvement of models and simulations in the context of experiments will be the predominate strategy for future scientific success in systems biology. In his experience, there is still a long way to go before a “Physiom-Project” produces a computer model of the human body, but the increase in computer power that has reduced the computing time for his heart models from hours down to milliseconds makes him optimistic about such ambitious projects.
Further information on the Conference programme is available at: http://www.icsb2004.org.
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