Systems Biology of Cancer and Aging

Systems biology seeks to understand the emerging behavior of gene regulatory networks with complex interactions, and thus offers great hope for addressing important biological problems from different perspectives. Cancer and aging are closely related, and arguably two of the most important unsolved problems in biology. Previous genetic/molecular studies have revealed many important genes and pathways involved, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that we need systems view/approaches in order to better understand these complex phenomena. With the rapid advance in sequencing and other functional genomics technologies, we are facing unprecedented opportunities as well as challenges. Some of the pressing tasks are to develop conceptual/analytical frameworks to integrate various sources of data for a systems level understanding, and to derive predictive models that can guild therapeutics and intervention.

In this meeting, we are aiming to bring together experts in cancer/aging research and systems biology to discuss key issues and potential breakthroughs in the fields of cancer and aging, and to explore possible lines of attack that could benefit greatly from systems biology approaches. In addition to exchanging scientific ideas and sharing progresses among the participants, we also hope to provide an educational platform for the young, promising students.

This is the annual conference on systems biology jointly held by Center for Theoretical Biology(CTB)and California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences(QB3).This year,the Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity(CRI)in France will also co-sponsor the meeting. Eight symposia on theoretical and systems biology have been held in July 2000, Sept 2001, June 2002, June 2004, July 2005, June 2006, August 2007and July 2009.