DESCRIPTION
VENUE : Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Hyderabad, India
Control theory is concerned with designing strategies that ensure the robust performance of a system by automatically adapting to changes in the environment. Biochemical pathways in the cell are responsible for processing environmental signals, inducing appropriate cellular responses, and regulating internal events such as gene expression. Through elaborate mechanisms, they allow cells and entire organisms to perform their basic functions. The key role played by feedback in life are manifested in the homeostatic control and regulation of biochemical pathways, which break down nutrients and provide the cell with energy and materials, and their appropriate timing in functions. Recent years have witnessed remarkable advances in elucidating the components of cellular pathways and networks of genes. They provide a snapshot of the complete genetic activity of a cell, yet the overall connectivity and functional characteristics are still poorly understood - a fundamental lacuna in understanding their control architecture. Several mathematical tools based on control-theoretic thinking have already begun making a contribution in the understanding of the robustness and evolvability in designs of real biochemical pathways. Some examples are the theory of monotone input-output systems, feedback control theory, etc. Optimization techniques (Flux Balance Analysis) are being applied to pathways as it is assumed that biological organisms generally optimize there metabolic pathways for growth. Such applications are useful in designing pathways for addressing host-parasite interactions and pathway engineering. This satellite symposium will explore the close analogies between biochemical regulatory networks and engineered automatic control systems. Feedback, which is a central theme in such analogies, and the role of stochasticity, common in intracellular setting, will be explored in connection to fault-tolerant systems in pathways.
At the symposium, internationally known researchers will discuss relevant mathematical foundations and model systems from biology that would enhance interdisciplinary discussions. The emphasis will be on mathematical theory along with their application. This conference precedes the International Congress of Mathematics to be held at Hyderabad (ICM2010).