UMass Chan Medical School founds new department for systems biology

Photo | UMass Medical School Marian Walhout, chair of the UMass systems biology department

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By Katherine Hamilton

UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester has elevated its program in systems biology to full department status, according to a Tuesday press release from the school.

Molecular medicine professor Marian Walhout, who is also chair of biomedical research at UMass, will serve as the founding chair of the new department.

The systems biology program was first established in 2011 and uses experimentation and quantitative data analysis to answer major scientific questions, such as how bacteria affect drug responses and how cells and organisms die or live.

As principal investigator, Walhout’s lab has been continuously funded since 2002, per the release. Her work is focused on gene regulatory networks and gene expression, and she has authored more than 100 publications.

“Together, they have positioned the medical school as one of the premiere destinations for the field of systems biology research,” said Dr. Terence Flotte, executive deputy chancellor and provost of UMass Chan Medical School, in a statement. “Under Marian’s direction, the department will pursue cutting-edge interdisciplinary and collaborative research in an open and inclusive culture.”