Research Frameworks

Students learn about different research perspectives regarding systems biology. An example of one kind of framework is as follows:

The goal is to understand the underlying interactions that are responsible for global changes in a system. One kind of conceptual framework is to define all the system components. And then to formulate a model that describes the structure of the interactions that govern the system’s behavior. Another goal is to predict the properties of the system given specified perturbations; you can systematically perturb and monitor components of the system via genetic or environmental changes. Responses are measured using large-scale tools and visualization methods. The data is integrated with a current model. The experimentally observed responses are reconciled with those predicted by the model. The model is then refined so predictions more closely agree with experimental observation. The next step is to design and perform new perturbation experiments to distinguish between competing models. The goal is to have the model reflect biological reality. Systems biology involves iterative, strategic interplay between discovery- and hypothesis-driven science.

— Trey Ideker, Timothy Galitski and Leroy Hood
A New Approach to Decoding Life: Systems Biology
Annu. Rev. Genomics Hum. Genet.
2001, 2, 343–372