Studying organisms as a whole for potential metabolic(ally) engineering of organisms for production of (bio)chemicals is essential for industrial biotechnology. To this end, integrative analysis of different –omics measurements (transciptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, fluxomics) provides invaluable information. Combination of experimental top-down and bottom-up approaches with powerful analytical tools/techniques and mathematical modeling, namely (quantitative) systems biology, currently making the state of art of this discipline, is the only practice that would improve our understanding for the purpose. The use of high-throughput technologies induced the required development of many bioinformatics tools and mathematical methods for the integration of obtained data. Such research is significant since compiling information from different levels of a living system and connecting them is not an easy task. In particular, construction of dynamic models for product improvement has been one of the goals of many research groups. In this Research Topic, we summarize and bring a general review of the most recent and relevant contributions in quantitative systems biology applied in metabolic modeling perspective. We want to make special emphasis on the techniques that can be widely implemented in regular scientific laboratories and in those works that include theoretical presentations. With this Research Topic we discuss the importance of applying systems biology approaches for finding metabolic engineering targets for the efficient production of the desired biochemical integrating information from genomes and networks to industrial production. Examples and perspectives in the design of new industrially relevant chemicals, e.g. increased titer/productivity/yield of (bio)chemicals, are welcome. Addition to the founded examples, potential new techniques that would frontier the research will be part of this topic. The significance of multi ‘omics’ approaches to understand/uncover the pathogenesis/mechanisms of metabolic disesases is also one of the main topics.

The US is currently well ahead of the rest of the world in the development and application of SB and its principles especially as they pertain to basic medical research and development. This lead is largely due to its earlier start in the academic arena. However, there is evidence of rapid development in both the UK/EU and Japan, and the gap is narrowing, particularly in the UK. From an industrial point of view, the Pharmaceutical Industry based in the US and UK can capitalize on these opportunities and gain the benefits of this technology. Many educational institutions (particularly their medical divisions) at present are heavily business-oriented, realize that in this particular industrial environment, that every dollar counts.

Christina Smolke, who recently developed a novel way to churn out large quantities of drugs from genetically modified brewer's yeast, is regarded as one of the most brilliant minds in biomedical engineering. In this handbook, she brings together pioneering scientists from dozens of disciplines to provide a complete record of accomplishment in metab

Stephen Hawking says that the 21st century will be the century of complexity and indeed now systems biology or medicine means dealing with complexity. Both the genome and physiome have emerged in studying complex physiological systems. Computational and mathematical modeling has been regarded as an efficient tool to boost the understanding about living systems in normal or pathophysiological states. Covering applied methodology, basic case studies and complex applications, this volume provides researchers with an overview of modeling and computational studies of physiology (i.e. quantitative physiology), which is becoming an increasingly important branch of systems biology. This book aims to build multi-scale models to investigate functions in living systems and explain how biomolecules, cells, organs, organ systems and organisms carry out the chemical or physical functions. Some of the models addressed are related to gene expression, calcium signalling, neural activity, blood dynamics and bone mechanics. Combining theory and practice, with extensive use of MATLAB, this book is designed to establish a paradigm for quantitative physiology by integrating biology, mathematics, physics and informatics etc. To benefit from this book, the readers are expected to have a background in general physiology and mathematics

Many potential applications of synthetic and systems biology are relevant to the challenges associated with the detection, surveillance, and responses to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. On March 14 and 15, 2011, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop in Washington, DC, to explore the current state of the science of synthetic biology, including its dependency on systems biology; discussed the different approaches that scientists are taking to engineer, or reengineer, biological systems; and discussed how the tools and approaches of synthetic and systems biology were being applied to mitigate the risks associated with emerging infectious diseases. The Science and Applications of Synthetic and Systems Biology is organized into sections as a topic-by-topic distillation of the presentations and discussions that took place at the workshop. Its purpose is to present information from relevant experience, to delineate a range of pivotal issues and their respective challenges, and to offer differing perspectives on the topic as discussed and described by the workshop participants. This report also includes a collection of individually authored papers and commentary.

The first book to focus on comprehensive systems biology as applied to drug discovery and development Drawing on real-life examples, Systems Biology in Drug Discovery and Development presents practical applications of systems biology to the multiple phases of drug discovery and development. This book explains how the integration of knowledge from multiple sources, and the models that best represent that integration, inform the drug research processes that are most relevant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The first book to focus on comprehensive systems biology and its applications in drug discovery and development, it offers comprehensive and multidisciplinary coverage of all phases of discovery and design, including target identification and validation, lead identification and optimization, and clinical trial design and execution, as well as the complementary systems approaches that make these processes more efficient. It also provides models for applying systems biology to pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and candidate biomarker identification. Introducing and explaining key methods and technical approaches to the use of comprehensive systems biology on drug development, the book addresses the challenges currently facing the pharmaceutical industry. As a result, it is essential reading for pharmaceutical and biotech scientists, pharmacologists, computational modelers, bioinformaticians, and graduate students in systems biology, pharmaceutical science, and other related fields.

This second volume of the Metabolic Pathway Engineering Handbook delves into evolutionary tools and gene expression tools for metabolic pathway engineering. It covers applications of emerging technologies including recent research genome-wide technologies, DNA and phenotypic microarrays, and proteomics tools for experimentally determining flux thro

Can technology and innovation transform world health? Connecting undergraduate students with global problems, Rebecca Richards-Kortum examines the interplay between biomedical technology design and the medical, regulatory, economic, social and ethical issues surrounding global health. Driven by case studies, including cancer screening, imaging technologies, implantable devices and vaccines, students learn how the complexities and variation across the globe affect the design of devices and therapies. A wealth of learning features, including classroom activities, project assignments, homework problems and weblinks within the book and online, provide a full teaching package. For visionary general science and biomedical engineering courses, this book will inspire students to engage in solving global issues that face us all.

The advances in biotechnology such as the next generation sequencing technologies are occurring at breathtaking speed. Advances and breakthroughs give competitive advantages to those who are prepared. However, the driving force behind the positive competition is not only limited to the technological advancement, but also to the companion data analy

The present text is a complete revision of the 2nd edition from 2003 of the book with the same title. In recognition of the fast pace at which biotechnology is moving we have rewritten several chapters to include new scientific progress in the field from 2000 to 2010. More important we have changed the focus of the book to support its use, not only in universities, but also as a guide to design new processes and equipment in the bio-industry. A new chapter has been included on the prospects of the bio-refinery to replace many of the oil- and gas based processes for production of especially bulk chemicals. This chapter also serves to make students in Chemical Engineering and in the Bio-Sciences enthusiastic about the whole research field. As in previous editions we hope that the book can be used as textbook for classes, even at the undergraduate level, where chemical engineering students come to work side by side with students from biochemistry and microbiology. To help the chemical engineering students Chapter 1 includes a brief review of the most important parts of microbial metabolism. In our opinion this review is sufficient to understand microbial physiology at a sufficiently high level to profit from the rest of the book. Likewise the bio-students will not be overwhelmed by mathematics, but since the objective of the book is to teach quantitative process analysis and process design at a hands-on level some mathematics and model analysis is needed. We hope that the about 100 detailed examples and text notes, together with many instructive problems will be sufficient to illustrate how model analysis is used, also in Bio-reaction Engineering.