Embryonic development is a spectacular feat of engineering, wherein complex networks of tens of thousands of components are harnessed to achieve growth, differentiation, and patterning that is amazingly robust to intrinsic variability and extrinsic perturbation. Systems Biology is an emerging, hybrid discipline - incorporating elements of mathematics, computer science, and engineering - which seeks to analyze complex biological networks and elucidate the design principles that underlie robust performance. Systems Biology holds great promise for addressing fundamental questions in developmental biology, but progress has been hindered by a paucity of individuals with adequate training in both experimental developmental biology and the mathematical and computational disciplines. A predoctoral training program is proposed to remedy this situation. Advanced students at the University of California, Irvine who have already committed to thesis work in Developmental Biology or Systems Biology will receive cross-training through classes, dual mentoring, presentations and career development activities. Trainees may come from any of the nine departmental Ph.D. programs to which 26 faculty trainers belong, including Developmental and Cell Biology, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Biological Chemistry, Neurobiology and Behavior, Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics and Biomedical Engineering. This program will leverage diverse educational resources that are present at University of California, Irvine as a result of its history of strength in Developmental Biology and its recent NIH designation as a National Center for Systems Biology.

Public Health Relevance

Embryonic development is orchestrated by massive networks of gene regulation and signaling. To understand how and why birth defects arise, it is essential to understand these networks as complex systems, with design strengths and weaknesses. By studying the Systems Biology of Development, trainees will prepare for cutting edge research into the causes and treatments of birth defects.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
1T32HD060555-01
Application #
7631741
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-MRG-C (T3))
Program Officer
Coulombe, James N
Project Start
2009-05-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2009-05-01
Budget End
2010-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$248,893
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Irvine
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
046705849
City
Irvine
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92697
Konstorum, Anna; Lowengrub, John S (2018) Activation of the HGF/c-Met axis in the tumor microenvironment: A multispecies model. J Theor Biol 439:86-99
Yan, Huaming; Konstorum, Anna; Lowengrub, John S (2018) Three-Dimensional Spatiotemporal Modeling of Colon Cancer Organoids Reveals that Multimodal Control of Stem Cell Self-Renewal is a Critical Determinant of Size and Shape in Early Stages of Tumor Growth. Bull Math Biol 80:1404-1433
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Chiang, Michael; Cinquin, Amanda; Paz, Adrian et al. (2015) Control of Caenorhabditis elegans germ-line stem-cell cycling speed meets requirements of design to minimize mutation accumulation. BMC Biol 13:51

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