Meeting: Genomes to Phenomes (G2P) Workshop, Arlington, VA (October 25-27, 2015)

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Biological systems are exceptionally complex, involving a multitude of interactions among an enormous number of components at different spatial scales (from molecules, cells and tissues, to organs, organ systems and whole organisms) and occurring at different temporal scales (from molecular interactions that occur in a fraction of a second, to developmental and physiological processes that occur on time scales measured in hours to months). What these biological processes are, and how they operate to produce particular traits and properties (phenotypes) has been a subject of intense interest among biologists. The past few decades have witnessed a virtual revolution in our understanding of genes, genomes and gene regulatory networks. Ironically, this great growth in the knowledge of genomes and phenomes has not been accompanied by a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which genes affect traits. A deeper understanding of how genes affect complex traits has obvious practical benefits for developing an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying genetic diseases and diseases that arise through the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, such as cancer, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and the impacts of aging. Likewise, a deeper understanding will improve our knowledge of the consequences of genetic engineering with substantial benefits to animal and plant agriculture. Finally a better understanding of how genes and environment interact will improve our ability to educate citizens, at all levels, on important issues such as the effects of climate change and personalized medicine. The goal of the Genome to Phenomes (G2P) Workshop is to solicit advice from the mathematical and biological communities about opportunities to advance our understanding of emergent properties of biological systems. The workshop will examine where the gaps are in our understanding of genome-to-phenome relationships, how to fill these gaps, what kind of infrastructure would be required to achieve this end, and how best to encourage an integrated approach encompassing theory and experiment through new interactions among experimental biologists and mathematicians. The workshop will lay the foundation for new collaborations among biologists, mathematicians and statisticians in developing a deeper understanding of the interactions among genes and complex traits. The challenge to understand these exceptionally complex relationships creates rich opportunities for interaction among biological and mathematical scientists to develop new and sophisticated methods of analyzing and understanding the processes that link genotypes and phenotypes.