Spring 2005: Physics 257 "Special Topics in Biophysics"

Modeling in Systems Biology

Instructor: B.I. Shraiman

Thu 4:00-7:00 pm, KITP Main Seminar Room

This course will introduce students to a number of biological systems (of varying complexity) with the emphasis on quantitative analysis and modeling. The course will discuss examples of biological networks regulating gene expression; bio-chemical cascades in signal transduction; temporal pattern generators and spatial patterning processes.

Specifically, the course will cover:

A) Gene regulatory networks in bacteria; B) Metabolic networks; C) Chemotaxis;

D) Vertebrate and invertebrate photo-transduction; E) Circadian rhythm;

G) Cell cycle; H) Morphogens and patterns in embryonic development.  

These systems will serve to introduce a number of modeling approaches and tools (e.g. phase space analysis, stability, bifurcations and limit cycles, Langevin and Master equations for stochastic processes, programming in Matlab) as well as aspects of bioinformatics and information theory.

Prerequisites: Differential equations, probability and linear algebra.

For more information see http://www.kitp.ucsb/~shraiman/syllabus_SysBio.htm