Systems Biology podcasts

Neurobiologist Tom Clandinin joins Nicholas Weiler to explore how interacting genetic, cellular and metabolic systems maintain brain health over a lifetime, and how their breakdown contributes to neurodegeneration. The discussion moves beyond single explanations such as inflammation or waste clearance to a systems-level study of brain resilience. Clandinin describes a collaborative programme combining large-scale genetic perturbations in flies and mice with molecular, circuit and behavioural measurements. Computational models will connect these observations across cell types, predict interactions and guide experiments toward potential ways to strengthen the aging brain’s maintenance systems.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Kathryn Nave discusses how living systems acquire meaning and intelligence through organization, constraints, and active inference. The conversation connects the free-energy principle and organizational closure to questions about brains, cognition, agency, and the boundaries of intelligent life.

Jure Leskovec connects data-driven biological modelling with relational deep learning. Topics include multiscale virtual-cell models, treating databases as graphs and using in-context prediction across multiple tables. The discussion also covers benchmark evaluation, explanations, agent integration and the practical limitations of relational foundation models.

Hosted by Sam Charrington

Polina Shichkova discusses models of brain metabolism, including energy supply and the cellular processes that maintain neuronal function.

Markus Covert discusses comprehensive bacterial cell simulations and what whole-cell modelling could contribute to future studies of neurons.

Avrama Blackwell discusses computational models of chemical signalling inside neurons and their relationship to cellular information processing.