Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Theoretical Immunology)

The Theoretical Immunology Group at IGC

Jorge will give an overview of his group's current activities

Indiana University - Complex Systems Group

Enzymes and flow

The metabolism consists of many enzymes working together. To understand the properties of these enzymes we have isolated them and observed their kinetic behaviour in closed reactions. With advanced techniques it is now possible to observe the kinetics in vivo. We re-evaluate our closed-system assumptions for this more realistic scenario. In particular, we show that the quasi-steady-state assumption does not hold in general. We consider a simple approach to find the kinetic parameters from the steady state. This is achieved by varying input into the system, which perturbs the steady state. We show that the system is modular in this state. The technique provides a firm basis for further explorations into metabolism kinetics.

Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (Computational Genomics)

The way ahead - the present and (near) future of the computational genomics laboratory

We are interested in the mechanisms underlying the fundamental organisation and evolution of eukaryotic cells. One common thread of what we do (and aim to do) is to understand how compartmentalisation in (cell) biology is achieved. We approach these problems using computational tools, and focusing on: 1) the evolution of networks of genes and proteins, in particular in their modular character 2) the evolution of protein complexes, which are instances of functional modularity, and their dynamic interconnections 3) the evolution and specialisation of organelles and vesicular trafficking pathways. I will outline the short and medium-term goals of the group, and how the current and planned projects integrate into the big (at least in my mind) picture. I have the ambition of also discussing with you where my work fits in relation to yours and the rest of the IGC, and vice-versa. My slides will be orange.