Smart computational exploration of stochastic gene regulatory network models using human-in-the-loop semi-supervised learning

Discrete stochastic models of gene regulatory network models are indispensable tools for biological inquiry since they allow the modeler to predict how molecular interactions give rise to nonlinear system output. Model exploration with the objective of generating qualitative hypotheses about the workings of a pathway is usually the first step in the modeling process. It involves simulating the gene network model under a very large range of conditions, due to the large uncertainty in interactions and kinetic parameters. This makes model exploration highly computational demanding. Furthermore, with no prior information about the model behavior, labor-intensive manual inspection of very large amounts of simulation results becomes necessary. This limits systematic computational exploration to simplistic models.