Vår 2023

BIO-3010 Modelling in Systems Biology I -Metabolic pathway modelling - 5 stp

The course is administrated by

Institutt for arktisk og marin biologi

Type of course

Master course for biology students.The course is available as a singular course.

The course will be arranged with a minimum number of 4 students.

Maximum participants: 10

Course contents

Modeling is an important tool in current biology. It is widely used to help experimental design, in drug target prediction and in the prediction of disease related changes. We will focus on the modeling of metabolic pathways in this course especially on the reconstruction of kinetic models and simulation techniques. We will discuss limitation of modeling approaches due to limited parameter availability and perform parameter estimation based on available experimental data. In the practical part students will be introduced to different programs available for stoichiometric and kinetic modeling. The integration of gene expression data into the modeling approach will be an essential part of the course. Furthermore, several related databases such as BioCyc, KEGG, BRENDA and Biomodels will be introduced during the course.

Application deadline

Concerns only admission to singular courses: Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June for the autumn semester and 1 December for the spring semester. Exchange students and Fulbright students: 1 October for the spring semester and 15 April for the autumn semester.

Admission requirements

Local admission, application code 9371 - Master's level singular course. Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.

Objective of the course

Basic knowledge on metabolic pathway analysis, biomathematical modelling, sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation. Knowledge of tools available for kinetic modeling and knowledge about related databases. Students will be able to reconstruct small metabolic network models and simple kinetic models and perform time courses simulations as well as parameter estimation from biological data. Students will furthermore be able to perform stoichiometric analysis and simple flux balance analysis with tools available on the internet. The goal is that the students have a general understanding of modeling and its applications to different biological topics. They will furthermore be familiar with available databases and web based tools.

Language of instruction

English

Teaching methods

Intensive course 1 week, 40 hours combined lectures and computer practicals.

Course will take place in February/March.

Date for examination

Off campus exam hand in date 10.03.2023

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.