2009 Inter-DTC Systems Biology conference – Manchester MIB

This year’s Inter-DTC systems biology students conference was held at our own Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre.  Manchester was following on from Warwick’s excellent event last year on their home campus, and had invited a range of speakers from Manchester, Warwick, and Oxford’s systems biology doctoral training centers.

The talks were divided into sections covering many aspects of systems biology ranging across application to theory.  There were a number of interesting keynote speakers.  Dieter Weichart talked on “from ‘omics’ to systems biology, and David Broomhead gave an intriguing lecture on applying fractal maths to simulate the complex composition of the cell cytoplasm.  Professor Broomhead has an excellent way of communicating complex theorem to the most mathematically inept (me!).  Pedro Mendes presented a history of simulating biochemical reactions taking us back to the early days of punch cards and drive through size computers crunching away and amusingly producing the same graphs your quad core Intel 8gb DDR-3 powered nvidia SLi carbon footprint behemoth produces

The students presented a diverse range of projects representative of the style of the doctoral training centre in each University.  Oxford University gave an impressive visual presentation of their progress modelling blood vessels within the heart, building on the existing model of the heart by Noble.   There were a number of talks ranging across modelling cell signalling, tracking cell movements, and bioengineering of microorganisms for potential biotechnology applications.  In addition, there was also 2 interesting talks that diversified from the cell biology / microbiology themes, on modelling / “decoding” epilepsy EEG seizure data to provide new understanding of the underlying cause of the condition and provide potential technologies for predicting and managing seizures.  One talk focused on absent seizures while the other focused on grand mal seizures, bother using different mathematical and statistical methods to search for patterns in the inherantly complex and chaotic brain activity.

The event was a great way to encourage students to communicate between systems biology DTC’s as well as building links for current and future research.  I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with students working on areas similar to my own, as well as their supervisors who could give their own incite on the work that I was doing.  This helps to broaden your understanding, as well as gain fresh ideas from people outside of your usual research group.  After the conference we went for an excellent meal hosted by Professor Westerhoff and had a chance to interact in a more relaxed social environment.

Next year’s conference hopefully will be hosted by Oxford University, which would be a unique and priviledged opportunity to visit their prestigious campus, and experience their own blend of systems biology research.