Parameter estimation using metaheuristics in systems biology: a comprehensive review

This paper gives a comprehensive review of the application of metaheuristics to optimization problems in systems biology, mainly focusing on the parameter estimation problem (also called the inverse problem or model calibration). It is intended for either the system biologist who wishes to learn more about the various optimization techniques available and/or the metaheuristic optimizer who is interested in applying such techniques to problems in systems biology. First, the parameter estimation problems emerging from different areas of systems biology are described from the point of view of machine learning. Brief descriptions of various metaheuristics developed for these problems follow, along with outlines of their advantages and disadvantages. Several important issues in applying metaheuristics to the systems biology modeling problem are addressed, including the reliability and identifiability of model parameters, optimal design of experiments, and so on. Finally, we highlight some possible future research directions in this field.