经过长期的进化，生物系统可以精确地、鲁棒地执行各种生物功能。在分子和细胞水平上，生物功能是通过基因和蛋白质的相互作用,即生物调控网络来完成的。网络的拓扑结构、动力学性质与功能之间有着紧密的联系。如何定量刻画这种关系，找出其中的规律，是我们理解复杂生命现象的关键。许多证据表明，生物网络中存在一些普适性的可定量的设计原理。这一方向已经成为国际上系统生物学研究的热点。本项目在申请人多年工作的基础上，利用可计算建模、算法优化并结合实验数据来寻找有代表性的生物网络中的设计原理及动力学规律，并将其应用于干细胞这一重要生物问题，力争在这一领域取得突破。

Through billions of years’ evolution, biological systems can execute various functions precisely and robustly. At the molecular and cellular levels, biological functions are carried out by networks of genes and proteins. There is an intimate relationship between and among the network’s topology, dynamics and function. How to characterize this relationship and to find the principles within are key questions for understanding the complex phenomena of life. More and more evidence show that there are general design principles that are quantifiable in biological networks. Searching for design principles has been a main subject in systems biology. The proposed project builds upon years of work by the applicants in this area, expanding into several new frontiers. It constructs and optimizes computational models, combining data from experiments, to investigate the design principles and dynamics properties of several representative networks. A focal point will be on the networks of cell fate transformation and applications in stem cell differentiation and reprogramming.