

Systems Biology
Systems Biology seeks to understand how a biological system operates as a whole by measuring, modeling, and probing interactions between components in the system (e.g., genes, proteins, metabolites) rather than studying the components in isolation. To gain such an understanding, systems biology studies follow an iterative approach of collecting quantitative experimental data, computational and statistical modeling of these data, and implementing these models to make predictions in new experimental conditions. These studies can guide the next set of experiments to better model and understand how a system functions via the interaction of its parts. Example biological systems analyzed by these methods include cellular signaling networks in microbial cells, dynamic processes during viral infection, and multi-cellular interactions in animal models and human patients; each system of study presents unique opportunities and challenges in collecting, analyzing and modeling the data. The resulting understanding gained from these studies can impact disease therapy (e.g., identifying new drug targets or biomarkers), biotechnology applications (e.g., determining methods to optimize biofuel production), as well as our general understanding of how biological networks operate. Students working in the research groups within the Systems Biology focus group will have the unique opportunity to work in a highly collaborative environment and gain inter-disciplinary training in both biological and computational fields. Students interested in this group may also be interested in the new QBio doctoral minor in quantitative biology that was designed to be compatible with a PhD in CMB.
Focus Group Chair Megan McClean
Biomedical Engineering Department
Biological signal processing
mmcclean@wisc.edu
Focus Group Members
Reid Alisch
Credentials: Neurological Surgery Department
Position title: Neuroepigenetics of human behavior
Email: alisch@wisc.edu
Daniel Amador-Noguez
Credentials: Bacteriology Department
Position title: Metabolic regulation in biofuel producing bacteria
Email: amadornoguez@wisc.edu
Richard Anderson
Credentials: Medical School Dean's Office
Position title: Molecular and cellular signaling and cancer
Email: raanders@wisc.edu
Alan Attie
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Molecular genetics of diabetes & insulin resistance; cell biology of lipoprotein assembly, cholesterol trafficking
Email: adattie@wisc.edu
Jason Cantor
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Influence of environmental factors on human cell metabolism
Email: jcantor@morgridge.org
Silvia Cavagnero
Credentials: Chemistry Department
Position title: Protein folding and aggregation in the cell, molecular chaperones, role of the ribosome in protein folding
Email: cavagnero@chem.wisc.edu
Scott Coyle
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Understanding and engineering cell behavior.
Email: smcoyle@wisc.edu
Huy Dinh
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Computational biology, Tumor microenvironment heterogeneity
Email: huy.dinh@wisc.edu
Jing Fan
Credentials: Nutritional Sciences Department
Position title: Mammalian cellular metabolism; metabolic regulation; tumor microenvironment
Email: jfan4@wisc.edu
Audrey Gasch
Credentials: Genetics Department
Position title: Genomic expression in response to stress
Email: agasch@wisc.edu
Ying Ge
Credentials: Cell & Regenerative Biology Department
Position title: Systems biology, cardiac disease and regeneration
Email: ge2@wisc.edu
Chris Hittinger
Credentials: Genetics Department
Position title: Molecular evolution of gene networks
Email: cthittinger@wisc.edu
Zhen Huang
Credentials: Neurology Department
Position title: Cerebral cortex development, neuronel migration, dendrite development
Email: z.huang@neurology.wisc.edu
Lindsay Kalan
Credentials: Medical Microbiology Department
Position title: Skin microbiome and wound healing
Email: lkalan@wisc.edu
Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Credentials: Pathobiological Sciences Department
Position title: Molecular pathogenesis of influenza and Ebola viruses
Email: kawaokay@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Melissa Kinney
Credentials: Biomedical Engineering Department
Position title: Stem cell systems biology
Email: melissa.kinney@wisc.edu
Pamela Kreeger
Credentials: Biomedical Engineering Department
Position title: Systems biology experiments and modeling for human cancers
Email: kreeger@wisc.edu
Mark Mandel
Credentials: Medical Microbiology & Immunology Department
Position title: Genetic analysis of bacterial colonization
Email: mmandel@wisc.edu
Phillip Newmark
Credentials: Integrative Biology Department
Position title: Regeneration and germ cell development in flatworms
Email: pnewmark@wisc.edu
Srivatsan Raman
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Synthetic biology, protein design, metabolic engineering, allostery, directed evolution
Email: sraman4@wisc.edu
Philip Romero
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Protein engineering
Email: promero2@wisc.edu
Krishanu Saha
Credentials: Biomolecular Chemistry Department
Position title: Human stem cell engineering
Email: ksaha@wisc.edu
David Schwartz
Credentials: Chemistry Department
Position title: Structural variation in mammalian genomes
Email: dcschwartz@wisc.edu
Nathaniel Sharp
Credentials: Genetics Department
Position title: Spontaneous mutation rate and spectrum
Email: nathaniel.sharp@wisc.edu
Michael Sussman
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Genome technologies applied to the plasma membrane of eukaryotes: signal transduction and bioenergetics
Email: msussman@wisc.edu
Ophelia Venturelli
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: Systems and synthetic biology of genetic regulatory networks and microbial ecosystems
Email: venturelli@wisc.edu
Chad Vezina
Credentials: Comparative Biosciences Department
Position title: Urinary dysfunction in aging men
Email: cmvezina@wisc.edu
Han Wang
Credentials: Integrative Biology Department
Position title: Genetic and circuit dissection of sleep
Email: han.wang@wisc.edu
Jade Wang
Credentials: Stress and genome integrity in bacteria
Position title: Stress and genome integrity in bacteria
Email: wang@bact.wisc.edu
Marvin Wickens
Credentials: Biochemistry Department
Position title: RNA and gene control; role of RNA regulation in development and the nervous system
Email: wickens@biochem.wisc.edu
Yongna Xing
Credentials: Oncology Department
Position title: Cell signaling related to caner, structural biology, biochemistry, proteomics
Email: xing@oncology.wisc.edu
Jerry Yin
Credentials: Genetics Department
Position title: Cellular/molecular mechanisms of memory formation and psychiatric dysfunction
Email: jcyin@wisc.edu
John Yin
Credentials: Chemical & Biological Engineering Department
Position title: Molecular virology, computational biology, biochemical engineering
Email: john.yin@wisc.edu
John-Paul (JP) Yu
Credentials: Radiology Department
Position title: Neuroimaging, neuropsychiatric disorders, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, systems neuroscience
Email: jpyu@uwhealth.org