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Overview
Systems Biology is an interdisciplinary approach to increase the understanding
of biological systems. It is a consequential application of tools and methods
from systems and control engineering to biological systems. At the heart of
this approach is the development of mathematical models to simulate and analyze
cellular systems.
The biological systems under investigation at the IST range from intracellular
processes like signal transduction in mammalian cells to cell-cell interactions
in specific tissues like a tumor. While biological expertise is introduced by a
number of long-term cooperations with experimental biologists, the mathematical
modeling of the considered processes is mostly done in our group. The wide range
of applications is reflected by the diverse modeling frameworks that are applied,
including stochastic models, ordinary differential equations, models where only
the network structure is considered, and models for heterogeneous cell populations.
Mathematical analysis methods aim at deriving predictions and hypotheses for the
considered process based on a mathematical model. The IST focuses on development
of model analysis methods that are derived from approaches typically used in the
field of control engineering. Such approaches are applicable to a wide range of
model analysis problems in systems biology. First, in order to support the
modeling process, parameter identification from experimental data is a very
relevant issue. In our group, various new approaches to solve this problem are
being studied. Due to the limitations from the experimental side, models for
biological systems are often subject to a large degree of uncertainty. To deal
with this problem, we develop methods for uncertainty and robustness analysis
which allow to derive reliable statements from uncertain models. A specific
interest of the IST is also in the analysis of complex dynamical behavior in
biological systems, such as the switch-like behavior encountered in bistable systems.
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Universität Stuttgart