Speakers
- Douglas A. Lauffenburger, Ph.D.
Biological Engineering Division, Department of Chemical Engineering,
and Department of Biology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"EGF Receptor Circuit Operation: A Paradigm from Quantitative Cell Biology"
- Garrett M. Odell, Ph.D.
Department of Zoology
University of Washington
"The Robustness of Evolved Genetic Networks Would Be Astonishing Were It Not Essential"
- Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D.
Department of Developmental Biology
Stanford University School of Medicine
"The Cell Cycle: Spatial and Temporal Control of a Multicomponent Genetic Network"
After decades of research, scientists know a lot about the characteristics and functions of individual biological molecules. The next several decades of work will focus on investigating how these molecules interact. Central to this effort is modeling and predicting the behavior of complex biological systems, which can best be accomplished by joining the expertise and approaches of quantitative scientists--including mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, and engineers--with those of biologists.
This year's symposium on computational cell biology marks the 40th anniversary of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) by showcasing this new direction in biomedical research. Dr. Douglas A. Lauffenburger and Dr. Garrett M. Odell will discuss how powerful computer models can help scientists make sense of the complicated biological networks that underlie development and cell motion. Dr. Lucy Shapiro will describe the use of simple models like bacteria to generate broad knowledge about basic biological processes such as the cell cycle, which appears to be amazingly similar in overall structure in all organisms.
By nurturing emerging fields such as computational biology, NIGMS is helping to support and develop areas that will play pivotal roles in 21st-century science. Research in these areas will advance our understanding of the roots of disease and will likely lead to new approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
