Medical systems biology

Abstract

The aim of this volume is to encourage the use of systems-level methodologies to contribute to the improvement of human-health. We intend to motivate biomedical researchers to complement their current theoretical and empirical practice with up-to-date systems biology conceptual approaches. Our perspective is based on the deep understanding of the key biomolecular regulatory mechanisms that underlie health, as well as the emergence and progression of human-disease. We strongly believe that the contemporary systems biology perspective opens the door to the effective development of novel methodologies to the improvement of prevention. This requires a deeper and integrative understanding of the involved underlying systems-level mechanisms. In order to explain our proposal in a simple way, in this chapter we privilege the conceptual exposition of our chosen framework over formal considerations. The formal exposition of our proposal will be expanded and discussed later in the next chapters.