COURSE COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY

Coordinator: Prof. dr. Paulien Hogeweg
Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics Group
Kruytgebouw, Padualaan 8
3584 CH Utrecht
The Netherlands
v p.hogeweg@uu.nl

Time & Place:

05 Februari 2024 - 11 April 2024
On Monday 13:15-17:00; Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-17:00.
The course will be held in various lecture rooms in the Uithof. (schedule)
(please check "mytimetable" for room updates)



Target:

This course is for bachelors and master students, as well as PhD students.
Please consult Prof. dr. P. Hogeweg

Admission:

Anybody who has successfully completed the Biological modeling course can participate. The 3rd year bachelors students who have completed the quantitative biology course can also participate. Others please consult Prof. dr. P. Hogeweg

Purpose:


Computational Biology uses computer modeling to investigate  biological problems. The course teaches a variety of modeling techniques and techniques to analyse the model behaviour. Moreover, biological theory obtained by computational modeling is examined.

Contents:

During the course, the emphasis will be on composing exact models, based on specific hypotheses. The models are analyzed, the results yielding insights in the original biological system. The models that are studied address fundamental questions from a variety of biological fields, among which:

(Spatial)  pattern formation and emergent properties  are common themes emphasised in all these areas
and the related general theory is introduced as a separate module.

A number of different model formalisms are used, namely:

Analysis tools include bifurcation analysis, sensitivity analysis, and various pattern analysis techniques.

Form:

The course is given on tuesdays and thursday. A typical day starts with lectures from 10:00 to 13:00, followed by computational modeling excercises   until about 17:00. Literature will be handed out related to the computer excercises , and at the end of the course, literature seminars are given by the students.

Evaluation:

   The student's final mark is primarily based on  the exam;
with a miniproject and literature seminar for rounding the grade

Course materials :