COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 8, 2008 – Juergen Hahn, assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, will discuss his research on systems biology January 7 at The Georgia Institute of Technology.
Hahn’s presentation “Developing Improved Models of Signal Transduction Pathways via Systems Biology” is part of a seminar series sponsored by Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Hahn’s research focuses on the development of new systems analysis techniques and their application in systems biology as well as for traditional chemical engineering processes. Applications of these techniques include sensitivity analysis of signal transduction pathways, image analysis techniques for fluorescence microscopy images, model reduction for controller design and experimental and sensor network design.
His presentation at Georgia Tech will detail the dynamics of expression and interaction of the IL-6 signaling pathway molecules, which Hahn says act as a key factor of the phenotypical characteristic of the acute phase response (APR) in the liver.
IL-6, he says, has been identified as one of the systemic inflammatory mediators involved in the regulation of the hepatic APR.
Gaining an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the APR in the liver upon trauma or injury can lead to improved treatment of complications arising from inflammatory disorders, Hahn explains.
Hahn’s work develops and analyzes a comprehensive mathematic model for signal transduction through the JAK/STAT and the MAPK signaling pathways in hepatocytes stimulated by IL-6. Interactions among the two signaling pathways are systematically investigated using sensitivity analysis in order to ultimately derive and validate an improved model.
