By Joshua Havumaki
My over two years at Plectix come to a close this week. Below are my experiences working in an interdisciplinary start-up company.
I first joined as an intern in summer 2007. Plectix was a rapidly developing company yet to be fully established. During the summer, I was the only biologist amongst mostly computer science academics. This presented an exciting challenge for me. Since I had little quantitative experience and absolutely no exposure to modeling or computer science, it was an unparalleled opportunity to learn. When I returned to Plectix full-time in early 2008, the team expanded as we began designing our flagship product, Cellucidate.
Aside from designing Cellucidate, the bulk of my time here has involved collating and modeling the large and complex EGFR pathway. Due to the fact that this was a new space for me, a significant portion of my time was spent learning and understanding the methods and nuances of modeling. This has also been a learn-as-you-go type of experience filled with many things that could not have been anticipated. Here are a few key lessons I’ve learned from working on the project.
First, the limitations of experimental and modeling methods should always be thoroughly discussed to ensure that experimental data can effectively complement the modeling work. Quantitative data can be deceptive, contextual and not appropriate for modeling. Second, when experts in different fields communicate it is quite possible to interpret terminology differently. This can result in a completely incorrect understanding of the technology or content. Finally, being fully aware of the feasibility of large projects is essential. For instance, manually tweaking rates on my large model at first seemed quite effective for fitting the model to data, but eventually turned out to be nearly impossible.
Overall, this invaluable experience has exposed me to systems biology from both the academic and commercial sectors. I won't soon forget many of the lessons I've learned here and I know that they will prime me well for a future career in systems biology.
My over two years at Plectix come to a close this week. Below are my experiences working in an interdisciplinary start-up company.
I first joined as an intern in summer 2007. Plectix was a rapidly developing company yet to be fully established. During the summer, I was the only biologist amongst mostly computer science academics. This presented an exciting challenge for me. Since I had little quantitative experience and absolutely no exposure to modeling or computer science, it was an unparalleled opportunity to learn. When I returned to Plectix full-time in early 2008, the team expanded as we began designing our flagship product, Cellucidate.
Aside from designing Cellucidate, the bulk of my time here has involved collating and modeling the large and complex EGFR pathway. Due to the fact that this was a new space for me, a significant portion of my time was spent learning and understanding the methods and nuances of modeling. This has also been a learn-as-you-go type of experience filled with many things that could not have been anticipated. Here are a few key lessons I’ve learned from working on the project.
First, the limitations of experimental and modeling methods should always be thoroughly discussed to ensure that experimental data can effectively complement the modeling work. Quantitative data can be deceptive, contextual and not appropriate for modeling. Second, when experts in different fields communicate it is quite possible to interpret terminology differently. This can result in a completely incorrect understanding of the technology or content. Finally, being fully aware of the feasibility of large projects is essential. For instance, manually tweaking rates on my large model at first seemed quite effective for fitting the model to data, but eventually turned out to be nearly impossible.
Overall, this invaluable experience has exposed me to systems biology from both the academic and commercial sectors. I won't soon forget many of the lessons I've learned here and I know that they will prime me well for a future career in systems biology.
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