On Wednesday 11 May Prof. Olaf Wolkenhauer, chair in Systems Biology & Bioinformatics at the University of Rostock, will give a talk on the concept of a pathway, its application in areas like systems biology and a formal, mathematical definition.
Time: 1115 - 1200
Place: Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), Animal Science Building, meeting room lower level (U-etg.)
 Olaf Wolkenhauer |
For most research projects the focus is on one pathway, network, or system. The main reason is that experiments can be expensive and time consuming but also because mathematical tools are primarily developed for the analysis of a single system, rather than systems of systems.
For an understanding of functional activity in cells, it is however clear that we require a conceptual framework to discuss the interaction of subsystems (modules), the coordination of pathways, or to model the temporal evolution of one model into another (e.g. to account for changes during cell differentiation).
I am going to discuss the concept of a pathway, its application in areas like systems biology and a formal, mathematical definition. Towards this end I introduce a system-theoretic framework in which a pathway model is considered a single mathematical object (vector field and morphism). This should enable us to discuss interrelations and interactions of multiple subsystems to realise higher-levels of organisation.
The motto of my talk is that there is (hopefully) nothing more practical than a good theory.
Please see Prof. Wolkenhauer's home page for more information on his work and interests.
