• Complex Systems in Biology and Medicine
• Metabolic Networks
• Proteomics
• Biochemical Systems Theory
• S-systems

To understand how biological systems function; how genomic, metabolic, and proteomic components cooperate in an integrated, concerted fashion; why systems are designed and operate in the specific manner we observe in nature and not in a different, hypothetically possible manner. To apply this understanding to advancing medicine, biotechnology, drug development and productive and sustainable stewardship of the environment.

Modern methods of biology are capable of generating high-quality data in unprecedented quantities. Particularly promising are dense time series of many simultaneous measurements of the expression of genes, concentrations of metabolites, enzyme activities, the prevalence and activation states of proteins, and of other biomarkers characterizing the physiological state of a cell. These data contain enormous information, much of which, however, is not immediately explicit but must be extracted with mathematical and computational means. We are using for this purpose a modeling framework based on nonlinear differential equations, called Biochemical Systems Theory. BST has unique properties that facilitate the conversion of time series observations into mathematical models. These, in turn, can be analyzed to shed light on the functioning of cells in vivo and allow us to explore and ultimately understand why an organism responds to a given stimulus in a particular fashion. This type of understanding is the foundation for reliable predictions about biomedical systems under untested conditions and for manipulation and optimization in biotechnology. Current applications of our computational methods include patway analyses in various microbial organisms, metabolic systems involved in the production of biofuel, and biochemical and physiological investigations associated with Parkinson's disease.

My research targets complex biological systems and thrives on creative ideas from faculty and students in diverse branches of science, engineering, computing and medicine.  Georgia Tech's and Emory's joint Department of Biomedical Engineering is a superb place for this type of cross-cutting, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work. Attesting to Georgia Tech's enthusiasm and support for this emerging field between the sciences, computing and engineering is the recent creation of a new entity -- the Integrative BioSystems Institute, where I have the privilege of serving as inaugural director.