The Molecular Systems Physiology group, headed by Prof. Ines Thiele, aims to improve understanding of how diet influences human health.

We use a computational modeling approach, termed constraint-based modeling, which has gained increasing importance in systems biology. In this approach, comprehensive computational models are assembled in a bottom-up manner from literature and genomic information. These models describe in a stoichiometric accurate format biochemical transformations occurring in a target organism. Once assembled, various omics data sets can be integrated and analyzed with these models, expanding currently available analysis tools and thus providing mechanistically based insight into complex multi-dimensional data sets. Moreover, these models can be used to predict the impact of genetic alterations (e.g., enzyme deficiencies) and of changed environment conditions (e.g., changes in diet composition) on the metabolic state of the target organism. The molecular systems physiology group builds comprehensive models of human cells and human-associated microbes. We then employ these models together with experimental data to investigate how nutrition and genetic predisposition can affect one’s health. In particular, we are interested in applying our computational modeling approach for better understanding of inherited and neurodegenerative diseases.

Publications