BioSB Course -  Modelling & optimization for bioinformatics and systems biology

Website:              Modelling & optimization for bioinformatics and systems biology
Date:                    9-13 December 2019
Location:             Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands
Coordinators:     Jaap Molenaar, WUR
Registration:       Register now via the website!

Course overview

In this course the participants learn how to describe the dynamic behavior of biological systems, and how to use optimization techniques to solve a variety of problems in bioinformatics and systems biology. Concepts of modelling in terms of differential equations are introduced via a great variety of case studies taken from diverse practices. This course also provides you with the main ideas underlying classical optimization, such as steepest descent methods, Levenberg-Marquardt approach, genetic algorithms, global and local search methods,  and to get you acquainted with the optimization techniques that are nowadays available and widely used. Examples of optimization problems in life sciences will be presented and discussed.

The course is a mixture of theory sessions and computer practicals. During the practicals we will work with the easy-to-use package PPlane for phaseplane analysis and most of the time with Matlab. Participants not acquainted with Matlab will get the opportunity to follow an introduction module. The course offers a math refresher to help those participants who are not (yet) involved in modelling on a daily basis. The course is completed with assignments in the form of practical exercises as homework afterwards.

Teachers:
  • Aalt-Jan van Dijk, Wageningen University & Research
  • Hans Stigter, Wageningen University & Research
  • Natal van Riel, TU Eindhoven
  • Aljoscha Wahl, TU Delft
Target audience
PhDs and Postdocs interested in the fundamental modeling concepts and techniques of Systems Biology and Optimization.  Basic knowledge of mathematics is assumed,  Programming experience and knowledge of Matlab is preferable but not required.

Learning objectives

The students will be provided with a theoretical basis, a variety of methods and a computational hands-on experience to handle differential equation modelling and numerical optimization.

In the course the students will learn:

Course credits
The study load of this course is 3 ECTS credits. Participants will get a certificate after successfully completing this course.

Registration fee
The registration fees for this 5-day course are: PhD student: 400 euro (excl. VAT), Academic researcher (PI/Postdoc): 600 euro (excl. VAT), Industry: 900 euros (excl.VAT)
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About the BioSB research school
BioSB is the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology community in the Netherlands. We are committed to train the next generation of computational life scientists. Our challenging and inspiring education programme covers essential topics in bioinformatics and systems biology, taught by teams of experts.

Upcoming BioSB courses

Registration is open for the following BioSB courses:For more information you can visit our website or contact us via: education@biosb.nl