Systems Biology: Unravelling Molecular Complexity in Health and Disease

Abstract

In November 2014, Georgetown University Medical Center and Medstar Institute for Innovation convened a conference related to “Systems and Complexity Sciences for Healthcare: a Conference on the Imperative for Systems Science in the twenty-first Century”. The symposium brought more than 100 biomedical researchers, medical educators, leaders and clinicians to deliberate the importance of understanding and incorporating biological system complexities into patient care. Such an approach provides tangible methods for breaking the bonds of traditional treatment and clinical management methods, towards truly personalized medicine, or cura personalis. Such a systems approach towards health, illness, and disease considers the inter-dependencies within and outside of a biological system and offers significant benefits towards improving clinical outcomes and quality of life. Despite substantial scientific evidence, however, the systems and complexity paradigm and its application to healthcare remains in its infancy. Herein, we present a summary of discussions and opinions of conference participants who collectively highlighted the tremendous opportunities of using such approaches, while recognizing the socio-economic, ethical, and organizational road-blocks that have prevented the widespread implementation of such a model for clinical research and patient care.