IGERT: Montana-Ecology of Infectious Disease: Integrative Graduate Training on Multi-Scalar Computational, Mathematical and Empirical Approaches to Complex Biological Problems

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This IGERT award establishes the Montana Ecology of Infectious Disease (M-EID) program at the University of Montana. The program focus on ecology of infectious diseases addresses the need to train leaders in an emerging field of global and local importance with considerable scientific, societal, ethical and policy aspects. M-EID has three major components: 1) interdisciplinary, team-based training in mathematics, computation, and biology; 2) specific training in establishing collaboration, team-building, and effective communication among disciplines and to other societal sectors; 3) professional development and career enhancement. M-EID faculty are from mathematical, computational, ecosystem, and biological sciences. The main research focus areas encompass different temporal and spatial scales and different levels of biological organization, providing fertile ground for innovation in mathematics and computer science at the interface of biology. Through an interwoven curriculum and guided application and experimentation, M-EID trainees will develop expertise in a primary discipline that will be applied to an interdisciplinary research problem. Trainees will have explicit training in team building, communication across the sciences, and effective teaching. M-EID has relationships with individuals, institutions, and agencies in the U.S. and abroad providing Fellows with additional venues to develop academic excellence and career opportunities. M-EID focuses on recruitment of Native Americans and other underrepresented groups through ties with tribal colleges and undergraduate summer institutes serving minorities and women. This program will serve as a model for small- to mid-sized institutions in effective interdisciplinary graduate education emphasizing both academic excellence and effective collaborative and communication skills. 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.