Computational Biology

The computational biology research group aims to carry out high quality interdisciplinary research at the interface between computer science and the life sciences.

Biological systems are made up of interacting, dynamic processes operating across a vast range of spatial and temporal scales, from molecular events taking nanoseconds, to whole organism processes operating over decades. The only way to achieve the primary goal of research in the life sciences - the determination and understanding of biological function - is to integrate these interacting components together through an iterative interplay between experiment, theory and computer simulation.

The flood of new data from biological experiments, and the novel challenges arising from the study of such complex multi-scale systems, is providing a powerful spur to the development of more powerful computational techniques and technology. These challenges are being addressed by a wide range of researchers within the Oxford University Computing Laboratory, from numerical analysts, to software engineers and complexity theorists. We are involved in many collaborations with life scientists across Oxford, from molecular biologists to ecologists. More details of some of these research projects are given below.