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SUMMARY:Executable Strategies for Cellular Decision Making - Jasmin Fisher
 \, Microsoft Research Cambridge
DTSTART:20100609T131500Z
DTEND:20100609T141500Z
UID:TALK23763@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Stephen Clark
DESCRIPTION:As time goes by\, it becomes more and more apparent that the p
 uzzles of life\ninvolve more and more molecular pieces that fit together i
 n increasingly\ncomplex ways. We know that Biology is not an exact science
 . It is messy and\nnoisy\, and most often vague and ambiguous\; posing gre
 at difficulties to\nestablish mathematical and computational methods for i
 ts analysis. To make\nmatters worse (so to speak)\, the combinatorial comp
 lexity observed in\nbiological networks (e.g.\, metabolic and signalling p
 athways) is staggering\,\nwhich renders the comprehension and analysis of 
 such systems a major challenge.\nRecent efforts to create executable model
 s of complex biological phenomena\nentail great promise for new scientific
  discoveries\, shading new light on the\npuzzle of life. We distinguish be
 tween two types of biological models\n- mathematical and computational - w
 hich differ in their representations of\nbiological phenomena. We call the
  approach of constructing computational models\nof biological systems Exec
 utable Biology\, as it focuses on the design of\nexecutable computer algor
 ithms that mimic biological phenomena. In this talk\, I\nwill survey the m
 ain modelling efforts in this direction (e.g.\, Boolean\nnetworks\, proces
 s calculi\, Petri nets\, interacting state-machines)\, emphasize\nthe appl
 icability and benefits of executable models in biological research\,\nmain
 ly through models of cell fate determination processes governed by\ncancer
 -related signalling pathways (e.g.\, EGFR\, Notch\, Wnt)\, and highlight s
 ome\nof the main challenges that executable biology poses for Biology\, me
 dical\nresearch\, and Computer Science.\n
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 1\, Computer Laboratory
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