UBM-Institutional: Research Training in Mathematical Biology

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Quantitative and mathematical approaches to biology are becoming more prevalent in both industrial and academic research. However, there remain significant barriers between the mathematical and life sciences, reinforced by the reality that college students in these programs are not typically exposed to the other discipline beyond the freshman year. This project will establish a program to train undergraduates at the interface of mathematics and biology, through a combination of course work and research experience. The program has a focus on team-based learning, with biology and math majors working together on projects jointly led by faculty from the departments of Applied Mathematics & Statistics and various Life Sciences departments. Each year, a cohort of undergraduate students will be recruited to the program, half drawn from majors in the mathematical sciences, and half from majors in the life sciences. These students will be grouped into research teams (including both math and biology majors) that will engage in a summer of full-time research; the research projects will continue through the following year, with the students receiving academic credit. The research projects will all involve components both of mathematics and of experimental biology, and will be jointly supervised by faculty from both disciplines. As an introduction to mathematical approaches in biology, a pair of new courses will be offered: one with a focus on the analysis of experimental data, and the other with a focus on the simulation of biological systems. These courses will provide a foundation in both the theory and application of mathematical biology, with an emphasis on how mathematical models can be integrated with experimental techniques.This combination of team-based learning, multidisciplinary research and mentoring, and novel course work, will provide a solid foundation for students to apply mathematical approaches to biological questions. This initiative will broadly impact undergraduate education at this university, serve as a model for change at other colleges and universities, and influence the broader scientific community by graduating students with a multi-disciplinary background who will take this perspective with them in their future careers.