About this course: This course will introduce the student to contemporary Systems Biology focused on mammalian cells, their constituents and their functions. Biology is moving from molecular to modular. As our knowledge of our genome and gene expression deepens and we develop lists of molecules (proteins, lipids, ions) involved in cellular processes, we need to understand how these molecules interact with each other to form modules that act as discrete functional systems. These systems underlie core subcellular processes such as signal transduction, transcription, motility and electrical excitability. In turn these processes come together to exhibit cellular behaviors such as secretion, proliferation and action potentials. What are the properties of such subcellular and cellular systems? What are the mechanisms by which emergent behaviors of systems arise? What types of experiments inform systems-level thinking? Why do we need computation and simulations to understand these systems? The course will develop multiple lines of reasoning to answer the questions listed above. Two major reasoning threads are: the design, execution and interpretation of multivariable experiments that produce large data sets; quantitative reasoning, models and simulations. Examples will be discussed to demonstrate “how” cell- level functions arise and “why” mechanistic knowledge allows us to predict cellular behaviors leading to disease states and drug responses.
Taught by: Ravi Iyengar, PhD, Dorothy H. and Lewis Rosenstiel Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Systems Biology Center New York (SBCNY)
| Basic Info |
Course 1 of 6 in the
Systems Biology and Biotechnology Specialization.
|
| Commitment | 6-8 hours/week |
| Language | English, Subtitles: Chinese (Simplified) |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
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| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
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Great new area to explore and study, however some subjects were not explained adequately.
An excellent introduction to Systems Biology. I studied electrical engineering for undergrad and neglected to take more than the single biology course that was required, so I was a little unsure of how the course would go. There are actually many parallels with systems biology and engineering, so most of the material was intuitive or could be easily fitted with my previous knowledge. I had to spend additional time for nomenclature and rechecking exam questions to make sense of the answers, but the class is organized in a way that you can actually acquire the information you need to build a foundation and be able to consider what researchers from various backgrounds are concerned with.
Very nice course, would have liked more interactivity / problem solving type questions
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RM
It was a very good course. The classes are well prepared and explained. I didn't give it five stars just because the quality of the audio wasn't very good sometimes and it's hard to listen unless you use headphones.