Resources

Getting Started

How should I get started learning about Systems Biology? This pressing question takes honest self assessment to answer. While the initiative, our collaborators, and the internet can do a good job providing as much resources as you have time for, it is generally a great idea to ask yourself a couple questions before embarking on this journey. Here are a list of questions to consider: What type of learner am I? What prior knowledge might I need to ease my understanding of this subject? How in-depth do I want my understanding of the subject to be? How much time am I willing to devote to this? What might I be looking to gain from my new understanding?… While you might not readily have the answers to some of these questions, they are important to keep in memory in order to provide personalized structure.

The general consensus is that the prerequisites for Systems Biology are Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Linear Algebra, Calculus, Graph Theory, and Probability & Statistics. Seems like a lot for any beginner, we know, but it is still very possible to to gain a basic understanding of the core concepts in Systems Biology without in-depth knowledge of the prerequisites. Without knowing how comfortable you already are with certain concepts we’ll do our best providing resources suitable for you.

Pick a category you think best summarizes what you’re thinking:

• “Chill, I just want a brief overview of what Systems Biology is about.” Mkay, here’s a quick introductory video.

• “I want to start with some crash courses in those prerequisites.” Great decision, here you go… Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics, Linear Algebra, Calculus, Graph Theory, and Probability & Statistics.

• “I’m comfortable with the basics of those prerequisites listed above, but I might need some refreshers. ” No problem, we suggest you check back to the list above when necessary. Here you go… MIT 7.91J Foundations of Computational and Systems Biology, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY: Constraint-based Reconstruction and Analysis, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY: Simulation of Dynamic Network States, Computational Systems Biology.

• “I am Yoda! Bring it on!” Ok Master Yoda, here you go… SYSTEMS BIOLOGY: Constraint-based Reconstruction and Analysis, SYSTEMS BIOLOGY: Simulation of Dynamic Network States, MIT 8.591J Systems Biology Fall 2014, Introduction to Structural Systems Biology.