Cells are the basic units of all living matter. They harness energy flows to drive biological functions. Most bio-chemical networks involved in energy transduction are nowadays well-characterized. However, the energetic costs and constraints for specific cellular processes remain largely unknown. In particular, what are the energy budgets of cells? What are the constraints and limits energy flows impose on cellular processes? Do cells operate near these limits, and, if so, how do energetic constraints impact cellular functions? Physics has provided poweerful tools to study nonequilibrium systems and to define these physical limits, but applying these tools to cell biology remains a challenge. Physical bioenergetics resides at the interface of nonequilibrium physics, energy metabolism, and cell biology. It seeks to understand how much energy cells use, how they partition this energy between different cellular processes, and the associated energetic constraints. In this School, we shall review the state of the art in physical bioenergetics with an aim to discuss and articulate open questions and future challenges.

 

This is the twelfth school in the series on Quantitative Systems Biology, held alternately at Trieste and Bangalore. The school responds to the strong need, especially at the Ph.D. and postdoc level, for providing scientists with a broad exposure to quantitative problems in the study of living systems. The audience will range from Ph.D. students to young faculty, who either work in this area or plan to do so.  

 

The aim of QSB2023 will be to allow students from different backgrounds to become familiar with exciting developments at the interface of physics, bioenergetics, and cellular metabolism. Starting with an overview of cellular bioenergetics, biochemistry and metabolism, the students will be exposed to contemporary research areas covering a broad range of topics, including energetics of mechano-chemical processes, active matter and biological processes such as cellular growth, function and organismal development.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Vijay BALASUBRAMANIAM, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Antonio CELANI, ICTP Trieste, Italy

Sanjay JAIN, University of Delhi, India

Vijay KRISHNAMURTHY, ICTS, India

Matteo MARSILI, ICTP Trieste, Italy

Mukund THATTAI, NCBS, India

Lecturers include:
Amitesh ANAND, DBS-TIFR, India

Vaishnavi ANANTHANARAYANAN, University of New South Wales, Australia

Massimiliano ESPOSITO, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Sunil LAXMAN, inStem, Bengaluru, India

Michael LYNCH, Arizona State University, USA

Jonathan RODENFELS, MPI-CBG, Germany

Pablo SARTORI, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal

Xingbo YANG, Harvard University, USA

 

 

Eligibility criteria: Scientists and students from all over the world can apply for the School. Researchers from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply. As the program will be conducted in English, participants should have an adequate working knowledge of this language.

 

The school will not have an online component.

Grants: A limited number of grants are available to support the attendance of selected participants, with priority given to participants from developing countries. There is no registration fee.