Understanding metabolism (incl. drug metabolism) from molecule to system

We are currently witnessing a rediscovery of research on the cell’s metabolism and homeostasis - a recent development that is fueled by the increasing evidence that metabolism is:

• key in health and disease (e.g. in the development of cancer or cardiovascular diseases)
• crucial for the virulence of pathogenic microorganisms
• central in biotechnology (e.g. in engineering and use of cell factories and (bio)catalysis).

It is expected that in the coming years funding bodies will launch calls to boost research on metabolism after years of virtual absence on the research agendas. The challenges to be addressed are enormous and range from the molecular to the systems level. We have the critical mass and can, thus, uniquely address the whole breath of research on metabolism.

We build on the historically strong reputation in (bio)catalysis and biomolecular engineering, and combine this with the more recently initiated systems biology activities with a metabolic focus (i.e. the NWO-Centre for Energy Metabolism and Ageing between the Facuty of Mathematics and Natural Science and UMCG).

Together we cover research on metabolism from the molecular level (i.e. structure and function of enzymes, transporters, catalysis routes, interference with metabolism through the application of synthetically designed small molecules) via the cellular/system level (i.e. emerging system behavior of complex networks, genetic regulation of metabolism, compartmentalization of metabolism) to the organism level (i.e. drug metabolism and disposition, toxicological effects and pharmacological action).