Teaching systems biology

Advances in systems biology are increasingly dependent upon the integration of various types of data and different methodologies to reconstruct how cells work at the systemic level. Thus, teams with a varied array of expertise and people with interdisciplinary training are needed. So far this training was thought to be more productive if aimed at the Masters or PhD level. At this level, multiple specialised and in-depth courses on the different subject matters of systems biology are taught to already well-prepared students. This approach is mostly based on the recognition that systems biology requires a wide background that is hard to find in undergraduate students. Nevertheless, and given the importance of the field, the authors argue that exposition of undergraduate students to the methods and paradigms of systems biology would be advantageous. Here they present and discuss a successful experiment in teaching systems biology to third year undergraduate biotechnology students at the University of Lleida in Spain. The authors' experience, together with that from others, argues for the adequateness of teaching systems biology at the undergraduate level. [Includes supplementary material].