Cellular Systems Biology

3.0 credits · Undergraduate

The behaviors of cells are increasing appreciated to be governed by a system of regulatory pathways, which processes information often in a multivariate, dynamic and non-linear fashion. The ability to reduce this complexity to predictable models is useful for designing new cancer therapies and genetically engineering cellular "machines". The course will cover: (1) analysis of dynamic control processes in cell biology, from intracellular pathways to networks to multicellular systems; (2) principles of computational systems biology, including genomic, proteomic, and transcriptomic algorithms; and (3) principles of synthetic biology, including gene circuit design and modeling. Students will learn to solve problems using computationally implemented algorithms and models, involving statistical methods, differential equation systems, multivariate regression, and logic-based approaches. This course is designed for upper-level undergraduate students in the biomedical, biological and/or engineering sciences.