数学与系统生物学交叉研究平台

The major aim of this program is to build up an interdisciplinary research platform from our mathematical biology research team in Guangzhou University, partnered with the disease control center in Guangzhou, and Michigan State University in USA. By further collaborating with several institutes in the Chinese academy of Sciences, the associated universities in China, especially those in the south, and some universities oversee, we will carry out joint systems biology research on the dynamics of stochastic gene expression, signal transduction network and its stochastic regulation for the expression of immune genes and oncogenes, control and eradication of infectious diseases such as dengue fever and malaria, and other important questions in life science. Our theoretical approach will be mainly based on experimental data driven computational modeling, combined with the methods of dynamical systems, differential equations, numerical simulations, statistical and stochastic analysis. By running weekly seminar and lecture series on selected topics, organizing summer schools and conferences on mathematical biology, we expect to attract more mathematicians and biologists, including in particular dedicated graduate students, post doctors and junior researchers, to engage in the interdisciplinary researches in the frontier of life sciences. This program will help create an advanced interdisciplinary research center for mathematics and systems biology to serve the emerging need of our colleagues in South China and outreach the whole country, so that Chinese mathematical studies are more appropriately balanced in subjects and localized geographically, and the overall visibility and creativity of mathematical biology research in China are greatly enhanced.

本研究平台以广州大学生物数学团队为核心，以广州市疾病防控中心及美国密歇根州立大学为主要合作伙伴，联合中国科学院相关研究所、华南地区及海内外相关高校，通过实验驱动的可计算建模，结合动力系统、微分方程、数值计算、统计和随机分析等理论与方法，以基因表达的随机动力学行为、信号传导网络对免疫或致癌基因的随机调控、登革热和疟疾及其它传染病的防控等问题为突破口展开系统生物学研究。通过开展专题讲习班、研讨班和系列讲座等学术交流活动，融合更多的数学家和生物学家进行多学科的交叉研究，培养年轻人才，不断壮大国内研究队伍，发展新的生物数学交叉研究领域，联合探讨生命科学的一些前沿问题。该项目的实施将建立一个服务华南，辐射全国的高水平数学与系统生物学交叉研究平台，整体上有利于促进中国数学研究在地域和学科上的合理布局，提升我国生物数学的整体研究水平。

自立项以来，平台秉承“自由、融合及服务社会”的发展思路，以基因表达随机调控、登革热和疟疾防控等问题为突破口，优化整合资源，推动知识创新和问题的解决。本年度我们注重跨学科交流，先后举办1次生物数学暑期班，组织2次大型学术会议，开设3次专题讲习班，并邀请分子生物学、系统生物学、传染病学、微分方程与动力系统、数值计算、统计学等领域专家30余人进行学术讲座和指导平台建设。同时，平台成员外出参加学术会议100余人次，3位青年教师赴平台协作单位美国密歇根州立大学深化合作研究，4名在读博士生赴国外名校联合培养。近一年来，我们在基因表达随机性量化指标的计算，能量消耗，首达时的调控，溶瘤病毒用于癌症治疗的数学刻画以及Wolbachia在蚊群中传播的动力学行为等方面，取得了重要进展。其中，鉴于项目组在登革热防控研究的进展，申请人于今年3月受邀参加国际原子能机构“南亚与东南亚监控登革病毒媒介”国家顾问会议并做大会报告。经广州市委市政府批准，2017年初将成立以项目组成员为主的广州大学应用数学研究中心。中心的建立将有助于提升我国数学、生物及医学科技的交叉融合，实现培育重大科技成果和培养优秀科研人才的有机结合。