Systems Biology and Nanotechnology

Explosive growth in the fields of molecular biology—particularly in the integrated fields of genomics, proteomics, and informatics (collectively known as systems biology)— is transforming our understanding of disease at the molecular level, and will begin transforming general medical practice within the coming decade into a medicine that is personalized, predictive, preventative, and participatory (i.e., “P4” medicine). This emerging molecular picture of disease is already driving the development of new classes of drugs that are targeted at the specific molecular errors that trigger the transformation from health to disease. As a general rule, these new drugs are effective only on patient subpopulations. This limitation is driving the integration of molecular therapeutics with in vivo and in vitro molecular diagnostics, which can be used for prescreening patients and/or for monitoring therapeutic responses. This, in turn, is driving the development of new in vitro and in vivo (molecular imaging) diagnostic technologies, with oncology turning into the proving ground for many of these new concepts.