Network Biology

At Precision Medicine Lab, we apply network biology approaches to study genetic variations, uncover RNA species that are central to diseases like oral cancer, explore drug repurposing opportunities and investigate complex mechanistic questions relating to the biology of various disease. By dissecting these interconnected networks in a detailed and systematic manner, we attempt to reveal the molecular underpinnings of disease and advancing the principles of precision medicine. We specialise in using protein-protein interaction networks (PINs) as scaffolds to integrate multiomics datasets and undertake integrative analyses of both diseases and normal pathways.

What is Network Biology?

Biology is shifting from studying isolated components in the cells, like genes and proteins, to understanding complex systems and their interconnections that underpin life. By integrating our knowledge of physical and genetic interactions between genes and proteins, and leveraging network analyses methods (from graph theory or the analyses of social networks), we can develop complex real-world models of the interplay of genes and proteins in a given cell or a system. This approach offers novel insights into the organization of molecular systems that are otherwise not possible.