SRI International's Pathway Logic Tools Model Cellular Networks for Breast Cancer Research

SRI's Systems-Based Pathway Logic Software Helps Predict Response to Cancer Therapies

MENLO PARK, Calif. – March 3, 2005– SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, today announced a grant from the National Cancer Institute (a unit of the National Institutes of Health) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for the study of signaling systems in biological networks associated with cancer cell lines. SRI will be a subcontractor to LBNL and will develop a model of cellular signaling networks related to human breast cancer.

For this project, SRI will apply Pathway Logic (TM) software, SRI's approach to modeling biological entities and processes based on the Maude computer language ( http://maude.csl.sri.com ). Pathway Logic software, founded on the computational science of formal methods, allows a rich set of logical operators to define relationships among the components of complex biological systems. A system modeled by Pathway Logic software offers compelling advantages for understanding biological processes such as signal transduction and metabolism at a global level.

Such model structures provide a way to organize diverse information concerning biological and biochemical states and processes, creating models that show how the systems evolve from a starting state. The structure of a model can be altered on demand according to user-specified conditions, and is easily modified to accommodate new information and respond to queries. Potential biological mechanisms, such as susceptibility or resistance to therapeutic intervention, can be experimentally tested using hypotheses created by a model or by querying the model itself.

"Pathway Logic software, the core of the 'system' that will be used for this important project, is a computational approach designed to automatically generate and display complex networks of components such as biological molecules and their interactions," said Keith Laderoute, Ph.D., director of SRI's Cancer Biology Program.  "Pathway Logic software permits researchers to pose logical questions about large biological networks-which are actually formal models derived entirely from experimental findings. The broad expertise of SRI's interdisciplinary research team-coupled with SRI's powerful Pathway Logic tools for studying biological and biochemical change-can greatly aid in understanding human disease processes such as cancer development."

SRI's Biosciences Division and Computer Science Laboratory will co-develop the Pathway Logic model of cellular networks.

About SRI International's Biosciences Division
SRI's Biosciences Division ( http://www.sri.com/biosciences/indexN.html ) works with government agencies and commercial pharmaceutical/biotech companies to provide a broad range of preclinical drug discovery and development services, including medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis, regulatory support, efficacy and safety evaluations, pharmacokinetics and metabolism studies, analytical chemistry and formulation design in production in GLP and cGMP environments. The division specializes in cancer, infectious disease and neurobiological research.

About SRI International Computer Science Laboratory
The Computer Science Laboratory http://www.csl.sri.com in SRI's Information and Computing Sciences Division studies the logical foundation of scalable systems that are beyond the scope of traditional testing or simulation, and builds and applies efficient high-level tools for rigorous mechanical analysis. Current systems of interest include not only traditional computer hardware and software, but also biological systems and nanoelectronics.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International ( www.sri.com ) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for almost 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

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