salle A. Turing CE4
23 mai 2013 - 16h00
Challenges and possible strategies in the modeling of signal initiation by membrane bound receptors
par Adam Halasz de West Virginia University
Abstract: Progress in the systems biology of cells has been driven by novel experimental methods, made possible by advances in DNA manipulation, signal processing, and data handling capacities. In recent years, it is becoming clear that the amount of investment and of the accumulated data are not matched by the level of predictive insight or clinical benefits derived from them.
Without pretending to offer a solution, I will outline the general context of molecular systems biology, the importance of cell signaling mediated by membrane bound receptors, and the related challenges for quantitative modeling.
The main message is that the different types of experimental data that are available, as well as the ultimate motivation of biomedical research, involve a wide variety of spatial scales, which can only be bridged by mathematical models that rely on abstractions and spatial coarse graining.
Time permitting, I will outline our two-level approach to connect detailed microscopic data on the movement of individual receptor molecules to the signaling processes that involve the entire cell.
