Group of kinetic modeling.

Moscow. 2003 year

Institute for Systems Biology significantly enlarged in two years of its work. The stuff numbers more than 30 eminently qualified specialists in such fields like kinetic modeling, biophysics, biochemistry and bioinformatics for the time being. For the lifetime of Group of Kinetic Modeling and Institute for Systems Biology our research results let us gain several large grants and tenders. For instance grant for research in the field of systems biology of rRNA metabolism (jointly with several European Universities) or tender for service in the systems biology which was declared by English Bioinformational Company BII. Furthermore, the part of results was published in various scientific journals.

Active work with students and PhD students is doing in the Institute. On the basis of the Institute several term papers and graduate works have been done by students of biological and physical departments of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Pirogov Russian State Medical University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Moreover several Ph.D. thesis have been successfully defended on the basis of investigations carried out in our Institute.

Currently, four organization departments function in the Institute for Systems Biology SPb:

• Department of Kinetic Modeling. may be evenly regarded as a successor to the Group of Kinetic Modeling. Its main aims are to develop approaches to the adequate description of cell functioning on the basis of plentiful experimental data accumulated by now. Today it is the largest Institute department that lets it function effectively in the several direction at once. More than 50 models of several biochemical pathways (amino acids and nucleotides biosynthesis, energetic metabolism of mammalian and bacterial cells, etc) have been already created. Moreover, the models of signal pathways and gene expression regulation are into consideration. One of the priority research direction is using of modeling for accomplishing various applied tasks from biotechnological (the search of ways of metabolism control in the bacterial cells, strain improvement, development of methods for increase of production efficiency) to medical (estimation of mechanisms of drug action, revelation of drug side effects development of drug safety methods, optimization of new compounds screening). Our model predictions find experimental confirmation in the studies which have been provided in the laboratories of Russia, Lietuva, United Kingdom etc., which are our collaborators already several years.
• Department of Pathway Reconstruction. The aim of this department is to collect, handle and analyze scientific information. The high professionalism of our researchers let us work with very bid data volumes, deal with the global pathways reconstruction like stem cells differentiation and apoptosis phenomena. Received during the work data allow to proceed to the realization of the such global and difficult project like Encyclopedia of Stem Cells foundation and several data bases.
• Department of Software Development. Making and technical support of software, data bases and others bioinformatics products comprise in the function of this department. Researchers of this department have wide experience in the scientific programming in C++, Java, SQL. Number of projects realizing in the department have already found wide response among systems biologists both in Russia and abroad.
• Business development department. In the sphaere of its activities search and commercial contacts with companies interested in applied research are conserned.