The Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study conducts research at the interface of molecular biology and the physical sciences. Led by Arnold J. Levine and Stanislas Leibler, Professors in the School of Natural Sciences, the Center hosts a range of distinguished Members and Visitors annually, and fosters original research in the field of systems biology.
Recent technologies have generated enormous amounts of hitherto unseen biological/genetic data. The tools of modern physics, mathematics, and computer science enable integration of such data, allowing scientists to draw conclusions that will result in leaps of fundamental understanding of evolution and basic molecular biology, and will reduce -- perhaps by years -- the time leading to significant breakthroughs in developing personalized approaches to diagnosis and treatment of cancer, viruses, and other diseases.
Researchers at the Center include a diverse group of theoretical physicists, cancer biologists, mathematicians and computational biologists of extraordinary promise. They are engaged in detailed analyses of large-scale genomic, structural, and clinical databases that have been created over the past several years, as well as in developing theoretical and experimental methods for conducting studies on the collective behavior of biomolecules, cells and organisms. The Center seeks to explore and understand how genes are expressed in time (fetus, adult, the progression of old-age), space (cellular localization and tissue type), and in different human conditions (disease, aging, embryonic development), and to understand how individual components can give rise to complex collective phenomena. Collaborations with experimentalists test and confirm predictions developed through these analyses in the laboratory and in the clinic.
The post-doctoral training model that the Center has developed includes frequent conferences, symposia and seminars and encourages collaborations with other academic, clinical and industrial groups, both locally and around the world, to test information and to confirm theoretical models. As one of the leading centers for theoretical research in the sciences, the Institute is a natural locus for research biologists to visit and work, as research in the life sciences increasingly requires extensive skills in mathematics, physics, computer sciences and chemistry. These interactions help to extend and promote the necessary exchange of ideas and formulation of questions for future discoveries and strides in the field.
Applications for future memberships are invited from people with experience in physics, computer science, statistics, mathematics or biology. In addition to one- or two-year memberships, there are opportunities for short-term visits and collaborative work.
For further information or to apply, write to email@example.com or The Simons Center for Systems Biology, Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540.
The Institute for Advanced Study gratefully acknowledges generous support
of the biology initiative from The Simons Foundation and the Leon Levy Foundation.
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Telephone: (609) 734 8118
Fax: (609) 951 4438