FORSYS

FORSYS ( Research Units of Systems Biology ) was a national funding initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to promote German systems biology .

aims

The aim of the FORSYS initiative is to set up interdisciplinary, systems biology research units in which both practically experimental (wet-lab) and theoretically working groups (dry-lab) conduct research under one roof. The wet-lab researchers come from the fields of biology and medicine, for example, while the dry-lab groups consist of mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists, chemists and engineers.

Furthermore, the systems biology course or suitable courses on aspects of systems biology are to be established and expanded at the participating universities in order to sustainably promote the training of young scientists in this field.

The results of the FORSYS centers should find their way into practical application, also in cooperation with commercial enterprises.

Funding is guaranteed for three years and, if the assessment is positive, for two further years, i.e. for a total of five years (2007–2011), although a further extension is not excluded. The coordination takes place via the project management company Jülich .

history

March 1, 2006: Publication of the guidelines for funding FORSYS

June 30, 2006: Announcement of the four FORSYS centers at the universities of Freiburg , Potsdam , Magdeburg and Heidelberg

January 1, 2007: Start of the funding measure

June 25, 2007: Announcement of the guidelines for funding FORSYS partners

June 19-20, 2008: FORSYS symposium in the Ernst-Reuter-Haus, Berlin

May 12-15, 2009: German Symposium on Systems Biology 2009, Heidelberg

October 6-7 , 2009: Intermediate evaluation of the initiative, Heidelberg

The four FORSYS centers

FRISYS - Freiburg Initiative for Systems Biology

The Freiburg Initiative for Systems Biology (FRISYS) was founded under the umbrella of the Center for Biosystems Analysis (ZBSA). FRISYS is coordinated and represented externally by Wolfgang René Hess . FRISYS comprises ten existing groups working successfully in the field of systems biology in the faculties of biology, applied sciences, medicine, mathematics and physics.

With the establishment of three new systems biology working groups (one each in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine, Mathematics and Physics), the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg is the first German university to introduce the tenure track based on the American model. H. the positions will be converted into permanent professorships after a positive evaluation, at the latest after five years.

Another innovation that FRISYS has introduced in Freiburg are lecturers based on the Anglo-Saxon model. FRISYS finances two lecturers for systems biology and these two lecturer positions are also real tenure track positions based on the Anglo-Saxon model. The task of these two lecturers is to establish the systems biology course.

The model organisms that are being researched as part of the Freiburg Initiative for Systems Biology include both pro and eukaryotic organisms in key phylogenetic positions in the plant and animal kingdom, such as cyanobacteria , the bladder cap moss Physcomitrella patens , the arable cress Arabidopsis , the invertebrate C. elegans , the zebrafish Danio rerio and mammalian cell culture. These model organisms are used to research networks in signal transduction during the growth and differentiation of cells.

Go FORSYS - Potsdam-Golm - BMBF-Research Project on Systems Biology

Go FORSYS was founded by the University of Potsdam in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology and the Max Planck Institute for Colloid and Interface Research .

GoFORSYS researches increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis in crops using the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . Increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis will play a major role in the future, as plants are not only a source of food, but are also becoming increasingly important as biofuels .

VIROQUANT - Systems Biology of Virus-Cell Interaction

VIROQUANT was founded under the umbrella of BIOQUANT ("Center for the Analysis of Molecular and Cellular Biosystems"). Viroquant cooperates with the Center for Molecular Biology, the Biochemical Center Heidelberg, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, the Central Institute for Technical Informatics, the German Cancer Research Center , the European Molecular Biology Laboratory , the European Media Laboratory and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research.

MaCS - Magdeburg Center for Systems Biology

The FORSYS initiative of the Magdeburg scientists results from a cooperation between the University of Magdeburg and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems . Researchers from the faculties of natural sciences, electrical engineering and information technology, mathematics, medicine, and process and systems engineering are involved in this research center, which was founded in 2007.

The scientists at the research center mainly deal with the regulation of biological networks. One of the long-term approaches of the Magdeburg scientists is to develop mathematical models for given biological systems. The aim is to construct an in silico cell and thus to be able to simulate biological experiments on the computer. The focus of MaCS is on the establishment of a theoretical and computer-based center with the aim of bundling the existing expertise of the University of Magdeburg in the field of mathematical modeling and system technology.

FORSYS partner

"FORSYS Cooperations" and "FORSYS Young Investigators Groups" are both to be networked as FORSYS partners with the four existing "Research Units of Systems Biology". Application period: August 7th to November 12th, 2007.

FORSYS cooperation

The research capacities of the FORSYS centers are to be further strengthened and expanded through FORSYS cooperation by supporting cooperation with the four existing FORSYS centers. Both university and non-university institutions such as small and medium-sized companies can apply to be included in the “FORSYS partner” funding measure. The subject areas should have a clear application reference, based on one of the FORSYS centers. The “FORSYS cooperation” measure is funded for up to three years.

FORSYS junior research groups

The FORSYS junior research groups are intended to address young scientists who are researching or want to research in the field of systems biology . "FORSYS Young Investigators Groups" should make it possible to implement your own independent research project and set up your own working group. FORSYS junior research groups exist at FORSYS centers and, as partner projects, in places where systems biology research does not yet exist, in order to bundle and expand any existing capacities. The following junior research groups will be funded until 2012:

Nonlinear dynamics of biochemical networks in pancreatic cancer: From experimental data to mathematical models , Katja Rateitschak, Institute for Computer Science, University of Rostock , partner of FRISYS

Quantitative analysis of bacterial gene regulation by small RNAs , Ilka Axmann, Humboldt University Berlin , partner of FRISYS

Adaptation mechanisms of signaling in the MAPK cascade , Nils Blüthgen, Charité Berlin, partner of FRISYS

Investigating the Cancer and Aging Link through Systems Biology (CALSYS) , Julio Vera, Institute for Computer Science, University of Rostock, partner of FRISYS

Hierarchical Modeling of Metabolism: From Methodology to Application , Henning Schmidt, Institute for Computer Science, University of Rostock, partner to MaCS

Systems Biology of Lung Inflammation (FORSYS-Lung) , Bernd Schmeck, Medical Clinic with a focus on Infectiology and Pneumology at the Charité , partner of MaCS

Reconstructing Networks of Epithelial Tissue Homeostasis (EPISYS) , Niels Grabe, Institute for Medical Biometry and Informatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, partner to VIROQUANT and MaCS

Fluorescence Methods for Quantitative Studies of Virus-Cell Interactions , Mike Heilemann, Faculty of Physics, Bielefeld University , partner to VIROQUANT

Dynamics and control in cellular systems , Andreas Kremling, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems , Magdeburg

Discrete Aspects in Systems Biology , Utz-Uwe Haus, Institute for Mathematical Optimization, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Magdeburg

Integrated analysis and modeling of legume seed metabolism , Björn Junker, Leibniz Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research , Gatersleben, partner of GoFORSYS

An Integrated Approach to Investigate Spatial Protein Organization in the Plasma Membrane and its Role in Signal Transduction , Peter J. Verveer, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology , Dortmund

A Spatio-temporal Approach to Systems Biology (SpaceSys) , Lutz Brusch, Technische Universität Dresden , partner to VIROQUANT and MaCS