Development of biofuels, novel drugs, or an understanding of many illnesses such as cancer, Alzheimer's or other amyloid diseases, requires insight into the molecular machinery of cells. Systems biology obtains such insight from an analysis of the biological networks that describe the interaction and regulation of the various biomolecules. However, cellular processes are often controlled by transient interactions between proteins that are difficult to determine by experiments. Simulations can complement experiments and trace such interactions, but their use is often limited by a lack of synergy between the systems biology community, where information-based approaches dominate, and computational biophysics with its focus on physics- and chemistry-based approaches.

This workshop aims to overcome this divide and to bring together researchers from physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science to acquaint each other with current trends in computational biophysics and systems biology, to explore avenues of cooperation, and to establish together a detailed understanding of cells at a molecular level.

This meeting is the sixth in a series of workshops of the same name organized in both Germany and the USA. Its main focus will be on:

• Protein folding and aggregation
• Multi-protein complexes and supramolecular assemblies
• Cellular environments and interaction networks
• Models, algorithms and computers

CBSB12 will explore new approaches for connecting research at these different levels of structure and complexity, and will evaluate progress in computational methods, algorithms, software and hardware in these target areas.

The workshop will act as a platform for in-depth discussion of cutting-edge research results obtained by international scientists at all levels in their careers. Invited talks will highlight recent algorithmic developments in and successful applications of high-performance computing to life sciences.

A limited number of contributed talks and poster sessions will allow participants at an early stage of their career to discuss their ongoing research and to put it into the context of the workshop. We will reserve time slots for the five students and postdocs whose abstracts are deemed most innovative. These students will present talks of the same lengths as the invited speakers, and will be honored with a certificate and a $450 travel stipend. About 30-40 additional travel fellowships of $100 - $250 will be available for postdocs and students.

For questions, contact us at cbsb12@ou.edu.