Establishing a Computational Infrastructure for Systems Biology

72939S03-I Attaining the goals of the new Genomes to Life program at the Department of Energy requires the development of a computational infrastructure for systems biology. Such an infrastructure, in turn, would enable the development of computational models for complex biological systems ¿ models that can predict the behavior of these complex systems and their responses to the environment. This project addresses the problem of deploying and delivering this infrastructure to the academic research community to promote collaborative research in systems biology. In addition to providing genome-scale models of microbial organisms, the infrastructure will provide a much-needed solution to the mounting challenge of data integration. The approach will involve collaborators and groups that already participate in the DOE Genomes to Life program but represent different collaborative needs. Phase I will explore the feasibility of distributing an established software platform for modeling and simulation to a select group of collaborators at various academic institutions. A comprehensive strategy, to distribute the software platform and modeling technologies into the hands of the researchers, will be developed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: The computational infrastructure should facilitate the research activities of laboratories involved in various microbial genome programs and provide a much-needed solution to their data integration needs. Also, the infrastructure should further one of the core aims of the Genomes to Life program, namely the development and distribution of a computational infrastructure for systems biology research. The establishment of such a technology access program also should enable the distribution and licensing of non-energy-related microbial models to the scientific communities related to both medical and industrial biotechnology.