You work on mathematical modeling of biological systems and organisms, better known as Systems Biology. Can you give me a few applications of systems biology to understand more about your work?
Systems biology uses mathematics to model and simulate biological systems and thus, the idea is to try to understand how systems work, because often a biological system is a system that has hundreds of variables and different components, a very complex interaction between them and when one tries to predict how that system will behave under certain conditions, it is very difficult to do it without having powerful mathematical tools. Then, when one tries to understand these systems and to predict its performance to improve something, the use of mathematics becomes a powerful tool and that mixture between mathematics and a complex biology system it is called Systems Biology. And one is able, for example, to get to identify the key points in the development of certain diseases, the key points to the use of microorganisms on an industrial scale for various biotechnological products, how to optimize biological systems to produce what one wants more cheaply and in greater quantity.
Is it true that your institute is recognized in Latin America as the leading institution working in Systems Biology?
True, we are the only institution working in South America in Systems Biology. The courses that we organized, for example, are open to students, teachers and other scientists who are interested and courses have had attendees who come from different countries of South America, even we were lucky enough to have an assistant from U.S. in one course. On the other hand, we are the only institution in South America whose primary purpose is the development of systems biology.
Also you work on protein structure and function, from the production of biofuels to improve detergents. Tell us about it.
The two things go hand in hand. When you are studying science and answering the questions that disturb you, at the same time you are trying to find out how your solution can improve the quality of life of humanity, how can it solve problems that still remain unresolved. One of those problems, for example, has to do with knowing now to use certain proteins produced by living organisms or in industrial processes, so that these proteins act by producing products that would be very expensive to produce in any other way, then for example, in the production of biofuels there are stages of treatment of materials, especially ligno cellulose, using a protein called xylanase that breaks parts of the molecules that are present in the ligno cellulosic material. For the xilasa to work, one not only has to investigate how is the
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