HepatoSys – Program and Mission Jens Timmer Speaker of the Project-Committee of HepatoSys.

HepatoSys – Program and Mission

Jens Timmer

Speaker of the Project-Committee of HepatoSys

One large German-wide project ?

Join an European initiative ?

Local centres ?

Several medium sized projects ?

How to spend XX Mio. € for Systems Biology ?

Decision of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research:

One large German-wide project: HepatoSys

Join an European initiative: SysMO

Local centres: Four Research Units for Systems Biology

Several medium sized projects: MedSysBio

How to spend XXX Mio. € for Systems Biology ?

2001-2003: Preparation

2004-2006: First funding period: “Getting Started”

2007-2009: Second funding period: “Integration”

The History of HepatoSys

Advisory board

Definition of Systems Biology

Choice of cell system: Primary hepatocytes

Structure of HepatoSys

2001-2003: Preparation

Two „Networks”

- Regionally organised

- Concentrating on specific topics

- Comprise dry & wet labs

Two „Platforms“

- German-wide organised

- One for Cell Biology, one for Modelling

Preparation: Structure of HepatoSys

Two Networks :

Network Regeneration: Freiburg, Heidelberg

Signalling networks

Network Detoxification/Dedifferentiation: Stuttgart

Metabolic networks

Two Platforms :

Platform Cell Biology: All over Germany

Standardised cell material, supply with human hepatocytes

• Platform Modelling: Berlin, Magdeburg, Heidelberg

General methods, cooperations with Networks

2004-2006: First Funding Period

First Funding Phase: “Getting Started”

Standardisations

A number of wet lab groups switching to hepatocytes

A lot of meetings and communication

Cooperations between people who never met before

A change in culture

HepatoSys is more than the sum of its parts

Achievements of First Funding Period

Standardisation Klingmüller U., Bauer A., Bohl S., Nickel P., Breitkopf K., Dooley S., Zellmer S., Kern C., Merfort I, Sparna T., Donauer J., Walz G., Geyer M., Kreutz C., Hermes M., Götschel F., Hecht A., Walter D., Egger L., Neubert K., Borner C., Brulport M., Schormann W., Sauer C., Baumann F., Preiss R., MacNelly S., Godoy P., Wiercinska E., Ciuclan L., Edelmann J., Kleemann W.J., Zeilinger K., Heinrich M., Zanger U.M., Reuss M., Bader A., Gebhardt R., Maiwald T., Timmer J., von Weizsäcker F., Hengstler J.G.Primary mouse hepatocytes for systems biology approaches: a standardized in vitro system for modelling of signal transduction pathways. IEE Proc. Systems Biology 153, 2006, 433-447

Two new Networks

Endocytosis: Dresden, Mannheim, Aachen, Hamburg

Iron Regulation: Berlin, Heidelberg

Motto: “Integration”

Integration of parts of Platforms into Networks

Integration of Modules into Processes

2007-2009: Second Funding Period

The Structure of HepatoSys

Cooperations of HepatoSys

Putting all the ‘omics together

So far: large scale, qualitative

Understanding biomedical systems by data-based

mathematical modelling of their dynamic behaviour

So far: small scale, quantitative

Two Definitions of Systems Biology

Convergence of the two approaches:

Large scale, quantitative

Integrated mathematical models of central functions of

hepatocytes:

Detoxification of xenobiotics

Proliferation after liver damage

Metabolic regulation of homeostasis

“Virtual hepatocyte”

Goals of HepatoSys

Clinical & pharmaceutical implications:

Personalised medicine

Efficient model-based drug targeting

Improved strategies for liver regeneration

Less animal experiments

Improved iron-substitution therapies

Mission of HepatoSys

August 27, 2008, Gothenburg

Workshop “Systems Biology of the Liver” at ICSB 2008

http://sysbio.uni-freiburg.de/Workshop_Liver_ICSB08.html

Towards HepatoSys-worldwide

Our Steering Committee:

Hans Westerhoff (Chair)

Siegfried Neumann (Vice-Chair)

Roland Eils

Jan Hoek

Uwe Sauer

Marius Üffing

Thanks to

Federal Ministry for Education and Research

Special thanks to „Projektträger Jülich”:

Gisela Miczka

Erich Stüttgen

Thanks to