From Physiology to Molecules: a Top-Down Approach to Systems Biology
Event details
| Date | 12.05.2014 |
| Hour | 15:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Terry Hwa, University of California, San Diego, CA (USA) |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
Abstract:
The ultimate goal of systems biology is to attain a quantitative, predictive understanding of the behavior of a living system as a whole (i.e., physiology) from its molecular parts. A major obstacle to this endeavor is the enormous number of (mostly inaccessible) parameters underlying complex biological systems. My lab has tried to tackle this problem using a top-down approach starting from cellular physiology. In this talk, I will show how a simple phenomenological approach in the spirit of thermodynamics can provide quantitative, predictive understanding of the physiological behaviors of bacteria cells. I will present a number of linear relations describing the allocation of cellular resources for exponentially growing E. coli cells. With a few phenomenological parameters, these "growth laws" can be used to accurately predict the physiological responses to various perturbations, including the fitness effect of protein over-expression, and the abrupt cellular response to the application of antibiotics. Applying the top-down approach to the endogenous response of E. coli to different modes of nutrient limitation, we reveal key molecular interactions enabling seamless coordination between different branches of metabolism -- interactions which Monod pursued until the end of his life but remained elusive despite decades of extensive molecular studies.
Bio:
Education:
Ph. D. in Physics, 1990
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
thesis: Statistical mechanics and dynamics of surfaces and membranes
B.S. in Physics, Biology, and Electrical Engineering, 1986
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
physics thesis : The electroweak contribution to the muon's g-2 anomaly
EE thesis: Laser-recrystallization and silicon-on-insulator device structure
Career:
Professor, 07/2009 -- present
Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Professor, 07/99 -- present
Department of Physics, Divison of Physical Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Distinguished Visiting Professor, 11/2008 -- present
Department of Physics and Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong
Chang Jiang Visitor Professor, 09/2002 -- 08/2007
Center for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University , Beijing, China
Visting Professor, 1999
Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York
Associate Professor, 07/95 -- 06/99
Department of Physics, Division of Natural Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Assistant Professor, 08/94 -- 06/95
Department of Physics, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY
Long-term Member, 09/93 -- 08/94
School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
Post-doctoral Fellow, 09/90 -- 08/93
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Abstract:
The ultimate goal of systems biology is to attain a quantitative, predictive understanding of the behavior of a living system as a whole (i.e., physiology) from its molecular parts. A major obstacle to this endeavor is the enormous number of (mostly inaccessible) parameters underlying complex biological systems. My lab has tried to tackle this problem using a top-down approach starting from cellular physiology. In this talk, I will show how a simple phenomenological approach in the spirit of thermodynamics can provide quantitative, predictive understanding of the physiological behaviors of bacteria cells. I will present a number of linear relations describing the allocation of cellular resources for exponentially growing E. coli cells. With a few phenomenological parameters, these "growth laws" can be used to accurately predict the physiological responses to various perturbations, including the fitness effect of protein over-expression, and the abrupt cellular response to the application of antibiotics. Applying the top-down approach to the endogenous response of E. coli to different modes of nutrient limitation, we reveal key molecular interactions enabling seamless coordination between different branches of metabolism -- interactions which Monod pursued until the end of his life but remained elusive despite decades of extensive molecular studies.
Bio:
Education:
Ph. D. in Physics, 1990
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
thesis: Statistical mechanics and dynamics of surfaces and membranes
B.S. in Physics, Biology, and Electrical Engineering, 1986
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
physics thesis : The electroweak contribution to the muon's g-2 anomaly
EE thesis: Laser-recrystallization and silicon-on-insulator device structure
Career:
Professor, 07/2009 -- present
Section of Molecular Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Professor, 07/99 -- present
Department of Physics, Divison of Physical Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Distinguished Visiting Professor, 11/2008 -- present
Department of Physics and Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong
Chang Jiang Visitor Professor, 09/2002 -- 08/2007
Center for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University , Beijing, China
Visting Professor, 1999
Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York
Associate Professor, 07/95 -- 06/99
Department of Physics, Division of Natural Sciences, U.C. San Diego
Assistant Professor, 08/94 -- 06/95
Department of Physics, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY
Long-term Member, 09/93 -- 08/94
School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
Post-doctoral Fellow, 09/90 -- 08/93
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free