Pushing limits by embracing complexity

Abstract

In this essay, celebrating the tenth anniversary of this journal, the author describes his journey, from being an engineering student to being a researcher in the biomolecular and biomedical sciences. Along the way, he is going to explain how he learned that handling the complexity of biological systems and cellular processes can provide guidance in situation we all face in our everyday life. In particular, he has in mind the decisions one faces in choosing the topic for a University degree and how to deal with the uncertainty when it comes to career decisions. Looking back at a decade of mathematical modelling in the biological and biomedical sciences, he is going to consider the role mathematical abstraction has played in systems biology and the role theory should play in systems medicine. By describing his own journey, he hopes to encourage young engineers and scientists to follow an interdisciplinary path.