Modelling Developmental Systems, Part 1: Why model?
Channel: Johannes Jaeger
Date: 2020-05-07

This is part 1 of 3 in a mini-series of lectures that aims to convey a basic understanding of the purpose and potential of computational and mathematical modelling in developmental biology, and to familiarise the viewer with the basic concepts required for such understanding. 

I have developed and taught this mini-series over the past few years as part of the Wellcome PhD Programme in Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge. I thank Clare Baker and Steve Russell for their continued support. The opinions expressed in this lecture do not necessarily reflect theirs! 😉

Part 1 introduces the reason why we model: genetic and molecular experimental approaches are fantastic tools to decompose a developmental system, and to localise functions to components such as genes. A fundamental limit of such reductionist approaches is that they only give us necessary, but not sufficient explanations. How can we be sure that the genes and interactions we identified are indeed generating the observed behaviour? I show that we need dynamical models to address this question. They complement genetic and molecular approaches by allowing us to "put the system together again," to re-compose the components and their interactions into an organised whole. Only in this way do we arrive at a truly causal-mechanistic explanation of pattern formation and development.

Consult the references in the talk for further reading.

Feedback always welcome!