Theoretical and Computational Biology
Most biological regulatory systems involve complex networks of interactions. Theoretical modelling, together with simulations and computational approaches, provides a useful framework for integrating data and gaining insights into the dynamical and functional properties of such networks. In this perspective, a major aim of the research is to contribute to the understanding of how regulatory mechanisms at various scales (e.g. molecular, cellular and intercellular) act synergistically or competitively to achieve degrees of regulation not attainable by one mechanism alone. Key issues are the variety of attractors possible for a network, the nature of transition states and transition dynamics, and the role of the network in emergent behaviour. These issues are examined in terms of systems of differential equations, automata networks and probabilistic models.
