How Computational Microbiology drives disease research & treatment | Prof Karthik Raman

[00:01:09] Professor Karthik: Introduction 

[00:02:03] Basic Primer: Systems Biology, Computational Biology and BioInformatics

[00:04:37] Modeling: What does it mean?

[00:10:13] Modeling in Microbiology:What would that look like?

[00:14:52] Computational Biology: Introduction to the omic studies

[00:20:08] Glossary Time: Explaining some of the terms

[00:22:36] From Gut Microbiomes to Microbiomes in the Space Station: Prof Karthik’s work

[00:26:38] Studying Microbiomes in the Space Station: The reason behind it

[00:29:11] Networks: Connections in Microbiology and its levels

[00:32:35] IBSE: What is the work done and Prof Karthik’s research area

[00:40:25] Gut Biome: Is the gut really the second brain?

[00:46:24] Gut Microbe Supplements: Do they really work?

[00:49:46] Chemical Engineering to Computational Science: Prof Karthik’s journey 

[00:52:50] The Intersection of Maths and Biology: A necessary and important partnership

[00:55:00] AI in Microbiology: What is the impact of AI?

[00:58:37] Computational Science: Switching majors and choosing an academic career

[01:01:47] Faculty Student Relationship: Changes over the years

[01:04:06] Future Research Plans: Current and upcoming projects 

[00:01:17] IIT Madras

[00:01:16] Professor Karthik a faculty at the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI in IIT Madras

[00:22:45] Professor Karthik mentions a collaborator in the University of Wisconsin-Madison

[00:32:35] IBSE [Center for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine] was started in 2015 under the mentorship of Professor Ashok Venkitaraman

[00:49:51] Professor Karthik completed his undergraduate degree from the Institute of Chemical Technology

[01:07:17] IBSE is working with the National Institute of Ocean Technology to understand the corals in Andaman

[00:03:43] Tom Knight asked if biology could be tamed as an engineering discipline 

[00:09:41] A British statistician George Box said that all models are wrong but some are useful 

[00:34:19] Professor Ashok Venkitaraman was responsible for starting the IBSE as the Initiative for Biological Systems Engineering

[00:35:36] Prof Karthik has headed the IBSE along with Professor Himanshu Sinha since 2016

[00:56:52] Prof Karthik mentions the scientists Frederick Sanger and Gordon Moore while talking about the Sanger Gene Sequencing 

[00:29:27] Prof. Karthik uses the example of Facebook and Twitter to explain microbial networks

[00:32:04] Google Maps is also used as an analogy to explain networks

[00:02:03] Systems Biology is an interdisciplinary scientific approach that studies complex biological systems as a whole, rather than focusing on individual components. It combines computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems

[00:06:26] R-naught is a value that can be calculated for communicable diseases. It represents, on average, the number of people that a single infected person can be expected to transmit that disease to.

[00:06:51] The SIR model is a very simple model that splits the population into Susceptible, Infected and Recovered. It is used to predict the rate at which infectious people are increasing.

[00:13:51] DBTL stands for the Design, Build, Test and Learn cycle in Machine Learning or Engineering which also applies to biology. 

[00:15:17] Genomics is the comprehensive study of an organism’s complete set of DNA or its genome, focusing on its structure, function, interactions with other genes and the environment, evolution, mapping and editing.

[00:24:24] Metabolites are small molecules produced or consumed during metabolism, which is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to sustain life

[00:34:38] Genome India is a national project to identify genetic variations in the Indian population, aiding in disease understanding and personalized medicine

[00:36:21] The Garbhini Project was a study on pre-term births in India. This was a project led by Professor Himanshu Sinha and was one of the successes of IBSE

[00:37:00] Metagenomics is the study of all genetic material from all organisms in a particular environment, providing insights into their composition, diversity, and functional potential

[00:50:15] Process Control is the practice of monitoring and regulating key variables like temperature, pressure, and flow in an industrial process to ensure consistent quality, maintain safety, and optimize efficiency

[00:56:52] Sanger Gene Sequencing reads DNA by copying it and making pieces that stop at each letter in the code. Scientists then sort these pieces by size to figure out the exact order of letters in the DNA

[01:04:34] Probiotics are specific living microorganisms, most often bacteria or yeast that help the body digest food or help with the symptoms of certain illnesses