Competence Center for Systems Physiology and Metabolic Diseases

Welcome to the Competence Center for Systems Physiology and Metabolic Diseases (CC-SPMD), a multi-disciplinary research collaboration of ETH Zurich and University Zurich. The Center was created to bring the power of systems biology to physiology and medicine and to develop the scientific foundation for personalized medicine.

Disorders of metabolism such as obesity, diabetes and cancer are considered major health risks globally. With the completion of the sequencing of the genomes of several species including humans the challenge is now to systematically decipher and integrate the many different levels of biological information and to apply this newly gained knowledge towards a better understanding of these complex diseases.

The CC-SPMD’s mission is:

• to develop tools under the systems biology paradigm to study metabolic control networks of different biosystems and their dynamic behaviour in response to perturbations in health and disease
• to advance and publish basic knowledge that leads the way to innovative and novel individualized treatment options, cures, or the prevention of metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes and cancer

The CC-SPMD is built around research programs and technology platforms and brings together scientists from different disciplines, including biology, computer science, chemistry and medicine. It comprises five large research programs:

• 'Systems Biology of beta-cells'
• 'LiverX: Systems Biology of Hepatic Insulin Resistance'
• 'Systems Biology of Adipocytes'
• 'Cancer Metabolism'
• 'Biosensors and Biomarkers'
  

The educational program of the CC-SPMD includes an international Ph.D. Program as part of the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. The program 'Systems Biology of Complex Diseases' is the first program in Europe which educates students at the interface of systems biology and medicine.