Systems Biology

Uses information obtained through experimental analysis and models this in the complex environment of the living cell, taking account of the dynamic interactions between molecules.

Systems Biology depends on the integrated implementation of a wide variety of scientific disciplines, ranging from molecular/cell biology and analytical chemistry to mathematics, informatics and text mining.

This represents a new era of quantitative analysis of biosystems, since the properties arising from complex interactions could not be meaningfully analysed using earlier, qualitative methods.

The systems we study range from metabolic pathways, through gene expression pathways and biomolecular machines, to organelles and whole cells.

Our "Bottom up" approach focuses mainly on the interactions between components rather than the components per se. This requires comprehensive or systematic quantitative measurements (all proteins, all metabolites etc). Theory, experimentation and computation are all needed with equal importance in this approach.

Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology (MCISB)

Sponsored by the BBSRC and EPSRC, the MCISB aims at the complete systems biology of baker’s yeast. It will determine the interactive properties of macromolecules and put these into a mathematical model. Upon computational integration, this yields a model of the behaviour of the yeast cells, which is compared iteratively with experiment.

Our core programme develops and tests a multitude of systems biology tools and approaches, which are then used in many additional research projects, ranging from the protein synthetic machinery, to signal transduction in human cells in the context of tumorigenesis and drug design. The MCISB is an international hub for Systems Biology, with a partner institute in Amsterdam and with leading roles in international systems biology consortia that focus on yeast, E. coli and receptor tyrosine kinases.

A Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) for Systems Biology is associated with the MCISB - one of only three DTCs funded nationally.

National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM)

Analysis of any biological system is dependent on the availability of reliable data, and electronic data mining plays an important role in this. With support from JISC, EPSRC and BBSRC, the UK National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM), focuses on information gathering for the biosciences.