Cancer Systems Biology

The unprecedented amount of data produced with high-throughput experimentation forces biologists to employ mathematical representation and computation methods to glean meaningful information in systems-level biology. Applying this approach to the underlying molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis, cancer researchers can uncover a series of new discoveries and biological insights.

The First Cancer Systems Biology Book Designed for Computational and Experimental BiologistsUnusual in its dualistic approach, Cancer Systems Biology discusses the recent progress in the understanding of cancer systems biology at a time when more and more researchers and pharmaceutical companies are looking into a systems biology approach to find drugs that can effectively be used to treat cancer patients.

Includes Contributions from more than 30 International ExpertsPart I introduces basic concepts and theories of systems biology and their applications in cancer research, including case studies of current efforts in cancer systems biology. Part II discusses basic cancer biology and cutting-edge topics of cancer research for computational biologists. In contains an overview of genomics, cell signaling, and tumorigenesis, in addition to hot topics like molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis and the molecular relationships between solid tumors, their microenvironments, and tumor blood vessels. Rounding out the book’s solid coverage, Part III explores a variety of computational tools and public data resources that are useful for studying cancer problems at a systems level.

Cancer systems biology is still in its infancy as a field of study, but it is fast becoming indispensable in the battle to defeat cancer and develop successful new treatments. Cancer Systems Biology marks an important step toward reaching that goal.

Edwin Wang received his PhD in experimental molecular genetics from the University of British Columbia in 2002. He also has undergraduate training in computer science. After working at FlyBase for a year, he moved to the Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council Canada, as a scientist working on bioinformatics and systems biology. He is currently a senior scientist at the National Research Council Canada and an adjunct professor at the McGill University Center for Bioinformatics. His work is focused on bioinformatics, computational, and experimental systems biology.