Biological systems are complex, but finite in size. They are usually organized in a hierarchical and heterogeneous fashion. Functionally relevant events occur at almost all temporal and spatial scales. These unique features present new challenges to the physical methods required to study such multiscale phenomena. The traditional methods are often found to be insufficient. Therefore, new conceptual frameworks and investigation techniques are needed.

In this proposal, we plan to bring together a set of leading experts in the field of biophysics to address several important biophysical problems. Typical topics are ruggedness and funnel-like behavior of the landscape at the molecular and cellular network levels, and multiscale simulation techniques for studying complex biological systems.

A hopeful outcome of the workshop is a unified picture of this emerging field, so as to stimulate more research in various frontier directions. Of particular importance is the identification of important biological questions in addition to exchanging ideas of methodology development.