A New System at MIT

Continued from page 2

By Erika Jonietz

01/01/2001

Computational and Systems Biology Initiative

Similar vision and understanding have led to a cross-school program that takes a systems view of another field known for its reductionist approach: biology. Faculty from the Departments of Biology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Biological Engineering Division joined forces in a grass-roots effort to create the Computational and Systems Biology Initiative. Last spring, faculty taught the program's first new graduate course, and a second will be added this spring. Interdisciplinary research efforts are already under way. The goal is to make MIT a leader in "the third real revolution in modern biology," says biologist Peter Sorger, a member of the initiative's executive committee. "For the first time, you have the introduction of mathematical methods to understand biology as an integrated system," he says. "As a biologist, when you come into this, you recognize that this is going to be the future."

In many respects, modern biology is molecular biology. Molecular biologists view biological systems from the perspective of a single molecule or, perhaps, two or three molecules that interact. "The new view is that a lot of biology can be understood only as a system," adds Bruce Tidor, a computational biologist in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Biological Engineering Division. "To figure out how biological systems really work is going to take a combination of computation, engineering, biology, and science. It is going to require investigators from these different fields working together and students who can cross boundaries more easily. MIT is ideally suited to do this."

The reason? MIT's strength in engineering. "Engineering is essential," says Sorger. While other institutions have programs in computational or systems biology, says Tidor, "what's going to make MIT unique is the very strong engineering component. Engineers are great at understanding systems." The initiative has already drawn faculty from the chemistry, physics, mathematics, brain and cognitive sciences, chemical engineering, and mechanical engineering departments. The Sloan School and the MIT Media Lab are also involved. Unlike similar efforts at other institutions, this program will not remove faculty from their home departments; instead it seeks to build ties across them.

Three components make up the initiative's efforts to integrate researchers throughout the Institute: interdisciplinary projects, many of which are already under way; core research facilities that will give faculty throughout MIT access to cutting edge technologies in computation and the study of biological molecules and processes; and a new educational program that ultimately will include a doctorate in systems biology. To fund this massive effort, the initiative's executive committee is seeking money from private foundations and government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In addition, the initiative is working with MIT's Industrial Liaison Program to investigate the possibility of industrial support.

Both the Computational and Systems Biology Initiative and the Engineering Systems Division capitalize on MIT's strengths to keep the Institute's leadership position in education and research. As the world beyond the university becomes increasingly complex and messy, faculty are learning to cross boundaries to keep pace with the evolution of technology, science, and society.