Magdeburg Centre for Systems Biology

The goal of the Magdeburg Center for Systems Biology is to establish a Systems Biology Research Centre at the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg. The main part of the research program is dedicated to the development of new theoretical methods and their application to the analysis and reconstruction of molecular networks involved in cellular sensing and response. The research programms covers a large range of biological complexity, starting from bacterial organisms (Escherichia coli and Rhodospirillum rubrum), via eucaryotic model systems (Physarum polycephalum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) to mammalian cells (T-cells, epithelial cells, neural cells) and complex processes like infection and cell differentiation (T-cells or ephithelial cells infected with Helicobacter pylori or a influenza virus). Each of these topics will be adressed in a mult-disciplinary approach with combined efforts of experiemental and theoretical methods. The variety of model systems is a helpful condition for identification of basic physiological principles and the development of systems-theoretical concepts with general relevance for biological systems.The Systems Biology Research Centre is embedded into the stimulating scientific and educational environment provided by the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg and the Max-Planck-Insitute for Complex Dynamical Systems and is intended to provide a breeding point for young researchers working in the field of Systems Biology.