Welcome to the Systems Biology Lab
Our lab studies the molecular networks inside cells that give rise to cell behavior and fitness, in isolation and in interaction with other cells and their environment. We focus on the principles and general understanding of how those networks adapt in response to environmental and genetic changes. We combine mathematical modelling, theory, and experiments. We apply the fundamental insights and methods in a biotechnological and biomedical setting.
The Systems Biology lab is divided in four Research Groups:
Single-cell metabolism and gene expression regulation
Microbial ecology and Modeling
Cell Physiology and Applications
Mining microbiota to ferment foods for human health
Examples of the type of research questions we ask are:
How do networks rewire when cells are confronted with new conditions?
How does the heterogeneity at the single-cell level affect population-level behaviour?
How do (microbial) cells form stable ecosystems?
Can we characterise the optimal states of (metabolic) networks under different selective pressures?
How do biochemical and physical constraints at the level of molecules shape trade-offs that affect the evolution of molecular networks?
How do networks and regulatory molecules integrate multiple signals to steer the networks towards desired states?