Rafael Rangel-Aldao

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The Power of Networks for Innovation

• Biological information is organized in small
  -world and scale-free networks where few nodes
  become hubs dominating the entire network.
• The topology or architecture of such biological
  networks could be useful to predict and prevent
  major causes of morbidity worldwide.
• This knowledge from systems biology could also be
  transferred and translated to better health care
  of less developed countries, by self-organizing
  networks

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Information is organized into Networks

• Small-world
• Highly packed
• Short paths
• Lethality
• Centrality
• Scale-free
• Hubs
• Rich gets richer
• Hierarchical
• Modular
• Low error
• Vulnerability

Internet (global scale)
Subcellular (nano scale)
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Power Law (The rich gets richer)
Scale-free networks
Barabási, A.L. (2002) Linked, The New Science of
Networks. Perseus.
Protein evolution
Team assembly networks
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AN EXAMPLE OF A GENE-HUB PPAR
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Genome-wide association studies of common diseases
Prediction of morbidity
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Genotypes and Prognosis of Diabetes
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(No Transcript)
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Biological information pathways to major causes
of morbidity worldwide
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The Healthium Web
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Estados Inicial
A
Clinical
Genomic
Metabolic
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Key References

• Rangel-Aldao R (2003) Developing countries and
  systems biology. Nature Biotechnology, 21, 3-4
• Rangel-Aldao R (2004) Realities for Latin
  American and Caribbean Biotech. Nature
  Biotechnology, 22, 20
• Rangel-Aldao R (2005) Innovation, Complexity,
  Networks and Health. Innovation Strategy Today,
  1, No. 2, 46-67
• Rangel-Aldao (2007) Patenting the gene-hubs of
  Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress the Systems Biology
  Approach. Recent Patents on Biotechnology, Vol.
  1, No. 3, In the press

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Summary Slide

• Translational research for capacity building
  from systems biology to preventative and
  networked health systems
• Self-organizing technology transfer integrating
  clinicians and scientists by autonomous and
  synchronized local networks
• Small-world networks as a mean to bridge
  effective international technology transfer to
  less advanced countries