IGERT: Program in Computational Biology (COB)

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Many achievements in the biological and biomedical sciences are fueled by advances in technology and computational science. To address the complex challenges in the biological sciences in the 21st century, there is a growing need for professionals who can translate scientific problems in biology into mathematics and computations; for such productive work, familiarity with modern scientific computing approaches as well as key biological challenges is essential.Intellectual Merit: This IGERT award is for a multidisciplinary Computational Biology (COB) doctoral program at NYU and MSSM targeting students interested in pursuing research in biology/biomedicine who require a transition from/to the mathematical/computer/physical sciences to best meet scientific challenges and career goals. This experimental, bidirectional program will offer integrative training that exploits NYU's strengths in applied mathematics, computer science, biology, and biochemistry, and Sinai's leadership in biomedicine. The major COB research themes - macromolecular modeling, computational genomics, and physiological modeling - will train students to investigate biological systems spanning wide temporal and spatial scales, from atoms and macromolecules, to cells and organs, to organisms. Modeling biological systems across such scales is essential for a modern systems biology approach aimed at understanding physiological processes and diseases and applying this knowledge to biomedicine.To integrate training in biological and computational areas and provide trainees broad scientific perspectives and work experiences, the COB PhD program includes: (1) Dual faculty mentorship for thesis research; (2) Interdisciplinary training through flexible and background-tailored tracks in scientific computing and computational biology (courses in computer science, applied mathematics, biology, and biomedicine), trainee-led seminars, and ethics/research conduct courses, while ensuring competitive time to degree (5 years); (3) Summer internships in industry, academia, government (Agilent, IBM, Celera, Merck, Novasite and 3D Pharmaceuticals, supercomputing centers), or international laboratories; (4) Learning environments and activities that promote interdisciplinary interactions and broader collaborations within and outside NYU/MSSM, including: trainee-led COB seminars, annual COB retreat, and common COB lab/lounge; and (5) Mentoring and career development activities to ensure student retention, especially women and underrepresented groups, through student advisory committees, trainee-led support group, and partnerships with Burroughs Wellcome Fund and NYC's IGERT programs at CUNY and Columbia. The COB doctoral program will be evaluated and evolved continuously by its executive and internal/external advisors in close collaboration with the pedagogical experts of NYU's Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).Broader Impacts: COB will train math/computer science students to successfully model biological systems and, in turn, provide biology students the grounding in computational techniques so they can tailor the model and algorithms to specific biological problems. To help bridge disciplinary gaps, we will design background-tailored short (non-credit) courses before Year 1 and promote peer learning by pairing students from complementary backgrounds. We expect that COB's activities will enable trainees to act as catalysts for novel interdisciplinary collaborations and to acquire expertise in cutting-edge research areas; these experiences will prepare them uniquely for research and education careers in academia, industry, and government. In addition, COB's program of integrating scientific grounding, experience in team-oriented multidisciplinary projects, mentoring, and career broadening activities will serve as a new model of graduate training at NYU/MSSM and beyond, promote the development of curricula for computational biology, and provide the opportunity to develop the COB doctoral degree at NYU based on the new model. Recognizing the urgent need for diversity in the sciences, we will make concerted efforts in conjunction with participating departments and with successful new minority initiatives at NYU to recruit and retain the brightest students, especially women and other underrepresented groups. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In this sixth year of the program, awards are being made to institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF.