Computational Systems Biology (CDL3)
Head of the CDL 3: Prof. Dr. Jan Baumbach, Prof. Dr. Kay Grünewald
Systems biology is concerned with the understanding and modelling of biological processes on the molecular to cellular level. Through the Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) on the Bahrenfeld campus, the research focus is on structural systems biology with an application focus on infection research. In Hamburg, the available state-of-the-art imaging techniques cryo-electron microscopy (KryoEM) and X-ray crystallography (X-Ray) provide internationally outstanding possibilities. The aim is to focus CDL3 on the development of methods and software for systems and infection biology. The Leibniz ScienceCampus InterACt, which was established last year, is a further link between the topics systems biology, structural biology and infection research. Computational systems biology will play a key role here in the near future. A deeper understanding of molecular processes at the cellular level is only possible through integrative modelling on the basis of the very heterogeneous, complementary experimental data sources from imaging techniques (cryoEM, X-Ray via PETRA III or XFEL, fast super-resolution microscopy), mass spectrometry, protein-protein and protein-genome interaction studies, and sequence data from NGS experiments. At the same time, the amount of data available for research is growing rapidly, so that very good data engineering concepts are needed to make these data accessible for specific questions. This results in a variety of challenges in the data science environment that can only be addressed by tailor-made software solutions. Computational systems biology is a part of bioinformatics with strong links to molecular modelling, structural bioinformatics, but also to diverse computer science areas such as optimisation, image processing, data engineering and machine learning. In this respect, systems biology benefits substantially from the CDCS structure and the planned computer science core unit. In addition, there is a clear thematic networking with the photon sciences, which is to be strengthened by close cooperation with the CDL Computational Photon Science and the Graduate School DASHH.
Staff Members CDL3
Dr. Khalique Newaz, Universität Hamburg
Involved Research Groups
Prof. Dr. Jan Baumbach, Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Informatik, Computational Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Kay Grünewald, Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Chemie, CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology
Prof. Dr. Arwen Pearson, Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Physik, The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging
Prof. Dr. Matthias Rarey, Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Informatik, ZBH - Zentrum für Bioinformatik
Prof. Dr. Maya Topf, LIV, UKE & CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology
Associated Research Groups
Dr. Jan Kosinski, EMBL, Integrative Modelling of Infection Cycles
Prof. Dr. Stefan Kurtz, Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Biologie, ZBH - Zentrum für Bioinformatik
Dr. Charlotte Uetrecht, CSSB Centre for Structural Systems Biology