Stochastic Simulations in Systems Biology and Biophysics

This course will introduce students to stochastic simulations as used in solving biological probelms. It will emphasize kinetic Monte Carlo simulations that are able to capture dynamical aspects (such as in cellular phenotype generation), complex details in biological problems (such as spatial heterogeneity) and fluctuation effects. We plan to discuss stochastic modeling of important cellular (as mediated by regulatory networks) and immunological processes and biomedical applications.

1. An ability to explain biological applications, concepts, and tools/ techniques of stochastic (Monte Carlo) simulations
2. Basic knowledge of constructing a stochastic computational model utilizing biological data
3. An ability to design kinetic Monte Carlo study of cellular processes and plan statistical data analysis
4. Some proficiency in correlating stochastic simulation results with kinetic/longitudinal biological data