Global Tolerance of Biochemical Systems and its Design Implications
Pedro Coelho,
University of California at Davis –
Abstract:
The ability of organisms to survive under a multitude of conditions is readily apparent. This robustness in performance is difficult to precisely characterize and quantify. At a biochemical level, it leads to physiological behavior when the parameters of the system remain within some neighborhood
of their normal values. However, this behavior can change abruptly, often becoming pathological, as the boundary of the neighborhood is crossed. Currently, there is no generic approach to identifying and characterizing such boundaries. We address the problem by introducing a method that
involves quantitative concepts for boundaries between regions and “global tolerance”. To illustrate the power of these concepts, we analyzed a large class of biological modules called moiety-transfer cycles and characterized the specific case of the NADPH redox cycle in human erythrocytes, which is
involved in conferring resistance to malaria. Our results show that the wild-type system operates well within a region of “best” local performance that is surrounded by “poor” regions.
Date: 2010-May-21 Time: 14:00:00 Room: 336
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INESC Brussels HUB Winter Meeting 2023

This edition of the HUB Winter Meeting will be co-organised with Science Business and will take place on the 30 and 31 January, in Lisbon, at Instituto Superior Técnico, Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Please see below a summary of the agenda, this will be updated on the INESC Brussels HUB website regularly (confirmed speakers and other relevant info). Places for onsite participation are limited so registration is mandatory. Online participants will be sent a ZOOM link for each specific session on the 27th January.
INESC Brussels HUB website: https://hub.inesc.pt/
Monday, 30 January
a) Digital Europe Programme & Chips Act: state of play and possibilities for INESC.
9h to 10h30 GMT
(Exclusive for INESC researchers and administrators).
b) Science Business: how can INESC tap into Science Business network, activities and communications tools.
(Exclusive for INESC researchers and administrators).
c) Networking Lunch (for all onsite participants).
d) Roundtable: From rhetoric to reality – Embedding international strategy in the DNA of research organisations.
(Closed-door, roundtable workshop, Chatham House rules, open to INESC researchers and administrators, external participants by invitation only).
e) Networking Dinner
(By invitation only – INESC researchers participating onsite in the event are elegible to join).
Tuesday, 31 January
f) Workshop: How they did it? Strategic positioning for structural success in Horizon Europe: a discussion of best practices.
(Exclusive for INESC researchers, administrators and international invited speakers).
g) The public consultation on European R&I Programmes: Towards FP10.
(Closed-door, roundtable workshop, Chatham House rules, open to INESC researchers and administrators, external participants by invitation only).
h) Networking Lunch (for all onsite participants).
i) Management Committee meeting (Directors and POB members)
The HUB Winter Meeting aims at bringing together researchers and administrators from the 5 INESC institutes, affiliated higher education institutions in Portugal and abroad, with key European and global players, to:
– Discuss key research and innovation issues at EU level.
– Inform institutional policy and strategy.
– Exchange best-practices about R&I management, career development and policy positioning.
– Promote, discuss and deliver vision, visibility, networking and impactful communication.
– Create, identify and deepen partnerships and collaboration opportunities for collaborative R&I.