iGEM 2025/2026: Systems Biology in Biomedical Innovations and Healthcare

Systems Biology highlights the intricate interconnectedness and interactions of biological components within living organisms, playing a crucial role in advancing diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities in biomedical research and precision healthcare. By applying these principles, we gain profound insights into complex biological processes and networks, helping to address persistent challenges in disease understanding, treatment optimization, and therapeutic design.

This involves the development of targeted, data-driven strategies for personalized medicine, the refinement of current technologies to improve clinical outcomes, and the expansion of access to advanced therapies. Tools such as biological standard parts, synthetic gene networks, and bio circuitry are expanding our capacity to model, test, design, and synthesize within biological systems - driving progress in digital biology, systems pharmacology, and artificial protein engineering.

This Research Topic aims to spotlight the multifaceted applications of Systems Biology as a foundational and translational tool for biomedical innovation. Our objective is to explore advancements that enhance our understanding of biological complexity and translate these insights into engineered solutions for therapeutic development, cellular behavior control, and disease modeling.

We welcome articles that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
● Diagnostic innovations informed by systems-level understanding and gene network analysis;
● Therapeutic strategies including gene therapy, RNA-based interventions, and microbiome engineering (excluding pandemic-focused or public health-specific work);
● Foundational research in DNA assembly, biosafety, and synthetic modeling of cellular systems;
● Biomanufacturing of pharmaceuticals and biomedical tools, focusing on scalability and efficiency;
● Systems Biology approaches to understanding chronic diseases, rare disorders, and individualized medicine.

This Research Topic encourages submissions from the iGEM community at the intersection of Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology in healthcare. We invite researchers to share their findings through various available formats such as original research, reviews, perspectives, technology and code, methods or hypothesis and theory. Please see our 2023 iGEM Collection and 2024 iGEM Collection for an idea of systems level papers.

The most applicable iGEM Villages include, but may not be limited to: Diagnostics, Oncology, and Therapeutics

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: iGEM, Systems Biology, Genes, Precision Medicine, Therapeutics, Protein Engineering, Biomedical, Disease, Biomanufacturing

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.