Multi-Scale modelling of the Bile Acid and Xenobiotic System

Systems biology has developed considerably in the past decade combining the different disciplines of mathematical modelling, computational simulation and biological experimentation facilitating the quantitative analysis of biological systems. This is often severely hampered by the lack of time-resolved data which ultimately leads to problems in validating any models created. To address the inherent complexity in biological systems, a recent trend in systems biology is exploring multi-scale modelling and simulation methodologies. We consider the Bile Acid and Xenobiotic System (BAXS) as a typical example of a multi-scale system. In the absence of dynamic data from biological experimentation the models we have developed are based on artificial data which enables us to explore multi-scale modelling and validation techniques and the integration of individual models. The outcome of this study will direct further research into multi-scale modelling methodology and ultimately will produce a novel framework for validation in the absence of dynamic data.