The Status and Future of Integrative and Organ Systems

SciencesOctober 20 – 21, 2002

Bethesda, MD

Sponsored by: APS and ASPET

Co-sponsors: Burroughs Wellcome Fund

Merck Research Laboratories

Astra Zeneca

Life Sciences Research Office(LSRO)

Michael Falk

Executive Director

Mission

To benefit society by evaluating biological information and scientific opinion for the public and private sectors

Steering Committee• James R. Bloedel

• Joseph R. Haywood

• D. Euan MacIntyre

• Peter C. Preusch

• James H. Woods

• Edward J. Zambraski

Alternate Terms• Integrative

• Systems Biology

• Organ Systems

• Translational

• Pre-clinical

• In vivo

Definitions

• Reductionist approaches are aimed at identifying molecular and cellular events, studied in purified form or in isolated systems and including genomics, proteomics, biochemistry and cell biology.

• Integrative and Organ Systems approaches are aimed at understanding how intact biological systems function at the level of whole animals, organs and organ systems (but not in the clinic).

Challenge

• Is this a real phenomenon or just perceptual?

• What data can we use to define the problem?

• Why is it happening?

• Can the causes by enumerated and assessed?