Genome Based Systems Biology

Systems biology comprises a lot of disciplines. In this field, biology joins forces with disciplines such as bioinformatics, mathematics and physics. The common target is to understand the functionality of cells, organs and even complete organisms. This broadly based Master's programme gives access to research projects in biotechnology, medicine, agriculture, pharmacy and astrobiology, among many others. With a Master's degree in "Genome Based Systems Biology", you can work on biotechnological projects, study diseases or investigate alternative forms of energy. You will be well prepared for a career in science, medical institutions or economics. With up to 18 students per academic year, this research oriented interdisciplinary Master's course combines "hands on" practical lab and "dry lab" courses. It enables intensive supervision and sufficient time to learn the use of complex instruments, evaluate and analyse complex data and build models. One aim of systems biology is to establish computer-based models of life processes, allowing to predict the performance of metabolic pathways, cells, organs or whole organisms under certain conditions. This is of major interest for biology, biotechnology and biomedicine. The increasing use of high-throughput methods in the fields of modern omics technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, results in massive and complex data. In genomics, gene sequences are identified and annotated to reconstruct metabolic pathways. In transcriptomics, functional genes are analysed to unravel regulatory processes. Subsequently, proteomics helps to identify the respective cellular and extracellular proteins. Finally, metabolomics allows the determination of the majority of metabolites in a cell. Systems biology comprises these methods in order to model the interaction of genes, transcripts, proteins and metabolites in a cell. Students acquire the profound knowledge in biology, mathematics and bioinformatics needed to understand biological processes, handle the produced data and apply or build mathematical or biological models. As Bielefeld University is famous for its "hands on" culture, students learn how to operate complex measuring instruments and machines. In the first year, knowledge in basic molecular methods and biological principles is intensified. Simultaneously, mathematical methods to be prepared to build models of biological processes are acquired in a comprehensible manner. Finally, a course of applied bioinformatics completes the basic training in the first two semesters. The second year covers the scientific profiling along individual interests. This can comprise the practical use of modern instruments and methods in the lab as well as the development of new bioinformatics tools to analyse data or the building of mathematical models. Data can be derived from high-throughput biology and biotechnology, for example. PDF Download