TALK ANNOUNCEMENT Friday May 15, 1:30 PM TITLE: Discrete Methods for the Computational Analysis of Biological Networks and Pathways SPEAKER: Ron Y. Pinter, Dept. of Computer Science and the Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology LOCATION: Carl Ichan Lab 280 ABSTRACT: Elucidating the structure and function of biological networks and pathways requires the development and the application of computational tools and techniques. Naturally, different methods are suitable for different kinds of analyses, e.g. employing discrete vs. continuous models, extracting qualitative vs. observing quantitative properties, and utilizing static vs. dynamic analyses. In this talk I will describe a number of discrete methods that we have devised recently to analyze both metabolic pathways as well as protein-protein interaction and regulation networks. In some cases these analyses have been static, allowing us to extract instructive information from the description of a network or a pathway; and in others - dynamic, aiming to understand and predict the behavior of a network or a pathway over time. In all cases I will present both the modeling as well as algorithmic issues along with the biological consequences that they have yielded. Specifically, the talk will include a detailed description of identifying composite network motifs, a method for the alignment of metabolic pathways and some of its applications, and the dynamic analysis of transient behavior in developmental pathways.