DEPARTMENT OF

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY

Welcome to the homepage of the Department of Systems Biology

The focus of research at the Department of Systems Biology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, is the communication between cells by soluble messengers (i.e. cytokines) and the regulatory processes that mediate inflammation. We aim to understand how cytokines transduce their information into cells and how these processes are regulated. Our main area of research is signal transduction induced by interleukin-6 (IL-6)-type cytokines. IL-6-type cytokines are major messengers of the immune system which gain in importance because their signal transduction is frequently deregulated in inflammatory diseases.

We analyse the molecular processes of signal transduction using molecular biological and biochemical methods. Furthermore, we cooperate with colleagues from systems theory to develop mathematical models of signal transduction processes. The combination of laboratory experiments and mathematical modelling is a major hallmark of systems biology which enables us to understand complex, nonlinear signalling events and to gain new insights into physiological and pathophysiological processes.

We contribute to the study courses Molekulare Biosysteme (Master), Biosystemtechnik (Bachelor), Biosystemtechnik (Master), Integrative Neuroscience (Master) and Systemtechnik und Technische Kybernetik (Master).