Group
Bioinformatics and Complex Systems Group
Unit(s) of assessment: Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
School: School of Science and Technology
Overview
Our fundamental goal is to understand the self-organising properties of complex biological systems and to comprehend how diverse collective behaviours emerge on comparatively static networks of interacting units or dynamical systems.
Research Interests
- Network theory: our interest is in developing new mathematical concepts that permit a better understanding of the organisational and functional properties of complex biological systems. Current work includes the development of novel, bio-inspired network measures, capable of detecting features of pertinence to system functionality; the extension of network science concepts to more general network structures, such as hypernetworks and multi-layered networks; and the construction of measures that incorporate important, often ignored network characteristics, such as directionality and/or weight.
- Computational analysis of biomedical data: the current focus is on applications to neuroimaging data of human brain structure and function, but also encompasses the study of other biological networks such as protein-protein interaction networks and metabolic networks. We use mathematical and statistical techniques including linear algebra, network science, optimisation, combinatorics, machine learning and applied topology to solve complex biological problems.
- Modelling of complex biological systems: we use theories of dynamical systems to model aspects of human physiology. We apply differential equations, bifurcation analysis and other mathematical and computational concepts to better understand the mechanisms underlying a range of complex biological processes, including tumour growth, anti-inflammatory response, and neurodegeneration amongst others.
Collaboration
- Joanne L. Dunster and Jonathan M Gibbins, Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, University of Reading
- Marcus Kaiser, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham
- Steve Coombes and Reuben O’Dea, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Nottingham
- Keith Smith, Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde
- Neuro-Topology Research Group, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen
- Connectomics Group, Blue Brain Project, EPFL
Members
- Jonathan Crofts
- Martin Nelson
- Jason Smith
- Nadia Chuzhanova (Emeritus Professor)