The role of mathematics in systems biology
The increased availability of data in the life sciences has made it possible to build computational models of biological phenomena at the system level. This holds true across scales, from the molecular to the ecosystem scales. Depending on the type of system, different modeling frameworks are being used, from the traditional systems of ordinary differential equations to stochastic models, as well as discrete models such as interaction-based models. The complexity of building, simulating, and validating large-scale models creates mathematical, computational, and biological challenges. In this talk we describe some of these and outline the role that mathematics can play in meeting them. The focus will be on applications in molecular biology.