[3] [4] More recent approaches include the redefinition of disease phenotypes based on common mechanisms rather than symptoms.
[7] Essentially, the issues dealt with by systems medicine can be addressed in two basic ways, molecular (MSM) and organismal systems medicine (OSM):[8][9] This approach relies on omics technologies (genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, phenomics, metabolomics etc.)
This branch of systems medicine, going back to the traditions of Ludwig von Bertalanffy's systems theory and biological cybernetics is a top-down strategy that starts with the description of large, complex processing structures (i.e. neural networks, feedback loops and other motifs) and tries to find sufficient and necessary conditions for the corresponding functional organisation on a molecular level.
This can be achieved e.g. by affine subspace mapping and sensitivity analysis, but also requires some preparative steps on both ends of the epistemic gap.
[9] Georgetown University is the first in the Nation to launch a MS program in Systems Medicine.