Emerging Topics in Biological Networks and Systems Biology
Symposium at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), Uppsala
9 - 11 October, 2017
High-throughput biology (genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, etc.) is producing
massive amounts of data that in different ways can help us understand biology. A major challenge is
to turn this Big Data into knowledge that generates novel biological insights. Diverse types of data
can be analysed together to build models of the complex interplay between genes, proteins, and other
molecular entities. The current knowledge of signalling and regulatory pathways is still at a very
rudimentary level, and generally there is incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms that
when perturbed cause common diseases. By bringing together the world’s top scientists in the field
we want to give all participants insights into the most novel techniques and results. The aim of the
symposium is also to stimulate beneficial collaborations between network and systems biology groups
in the international scientific community and various research groups in Sweden.
The organizing committee includes
Erik Sonnhammer (Stockholm University) and Sven Nelander
(Uppsala
University).
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The Swedish Collegium was founded in 1985 as the first institute of its kind in Northern Europe. A core
component of an institute for advanced study is a selective Fellowship programme open to applications
from across the world. The Collegium is located in Linneanum, a historic building in the Botanic Garden
in Uppsala, near the Carolina Rediviva Library and other scientific facilities at Uppsala University. SCAS
interacts with a large number of scholarly institutions. Especially important is the collaboration with nine
leading institutes for advanced study within the SIAS group (Some Institutes for Advanced Study), including
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University; Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University; and Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin.
Recently the Collegium received substantial grants from two foundations that are major financial contributors
to Swedish research. The purpose is to broaden the scope of SCAS activities to the natural sciences. This
symposium is the first to be organized within the frames of the “Theoretical Biology programme”, which is
one of four newly created programmes within the natural sciences field. In addition to symposia, the
programme will include several stipends for distinguished scientists and scholars to be in residence at the
Collegium for at least three months and up to an academic year.