Center for Theoretical Biological Physics

该奖项为位于加州大学圣地亚哥分校(UCSD)的理论生物物理中心(CTBP)提供了第二个五年的资助期限。第二个阶段建立在最初五年取得的广泛研究、教育和推广成果的基础上，既扩大了在生物物理关键问题上的影响范围并加快了科学进步的速度，又扩大了培训和推广活动的范围。至关重要的是，它继续发展和使用来自物理学和应用数学的概念和技术，以解决生命物质科学中原本难以解决的问题，并反过来利用生物学问题来激发在整个物理学中广泛适用的新概念。该研究计划包括三个项目，这些项目利用中心参与者的集体专业知识的深度和广度，针对特定的生物领域取得快速进展。它们是：细胞结构学--细胞内环境的动态中尺度结构；细胞内和细胞间通信的计算方法--基于化学反应的扩散控制跨复杂空间的通信；以及基因调控网络--遗传/信号网络在面对固有的随机性时表现出特异性和稳健性，但仍保持进化性。这些领域中的每一个都达到了可以有效实施基于发展和使用基本物理原理的方法的阶段。研究计划的一个单独部分将围绕较小的种子项目和初级调查人员组织。这一部分将确保灵活地跟上新出现的方向，并允许根据需要重新确定主要项目的方向。到目前为止，该中心在创造一个环境方面取得了成功，这一总体战略得以实现，这种环境促进了多研究人员的合作、跨学科思维，并对帮助建立一个在某种程度上是一个新的物理学分支的可能性感到兴奋。生物物理学前沿的一个主要挑战是训练物理学家成为这一固有的多学科学科的领导者。在该中心培训的大量学生和博士后在物理和生物科学领域获得了国内和国际领先的地位。这群才华横溢的人正在推动一种概念，即基于物理的深层次概念方法现在可以涵盖生命系统的复杂性。已被证明是成功的教育方法，包括培训讲习班、访问科学家方案、生物物理课程和研讨会/阅读课程/期刊俱乐部活动正在继续。学生学习生物物理的过程将在很大程度上通过将课程整合到一个全面的教学大纲中并通过制定个性化计划来满足生物学背景的不足而在很大程度上得到正规化。向更广泛的社区传播中心实践的新想法正在开发中。外展计划的重点是通过与南加州的合作机构合作，将代表性不足的群体纳入本科生的研究渠道。早些时候与加州州立大学圣马科斯分校的一项努力正在取得进展，这一努力将得到加强并扩展到其他机构。生命系统研究带来的整体兴奋将被用作与K-12教育部门互动的工具。该奖项由数学和物理科学局(MPS)和生物科学局(BIO)联合资助，作为促进数学和物理科学-生命科学接口的研究和教育的伙伴关系的一部分。资金由MPS中的物理前沿中心计划和凝聚态物质和材料理论计划以及BIO中的生物分子系统集群提供。

This award provides a second five-year term of funding for the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP) located at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). This second period builds on the extensive research, education, and outreach successes achieved during the initial five years to both expand the reach and accelerate the rate of scientific progress on critical issues in biological physics and extend the scope of training and outreach activities. Crucially, it continues the strategy of both developing and using concepts and techniques from physics and applied mathematics to tackle otherwise intractable problems in the science of living matter and conversely to use biological problems to motivate new concepts of broad applicability throughout physics. The research program includes three projects that utilize the depth and breadth of the collective expertise of the center participants to target specific biological areas for rapid advances. These are: Cellular Tectonics- the dynamic mesoscale structure of the intracellular milieu; Computational Approaches to Intracellular and Intercellular Communication - chemical-based reaction-diffusion governed communication across complex spaces; and Gene Regulatory Networks - genetic/signaling networks exhibit specificity and robustness in the face of intrinsic stochasticity, and yet retain evolvability. Each of these areas has reached the stage where approaches based on developing and using fundamental physical principles can be effectively implemented. A separate part of the research plan will be organized around smaller seed projects and around junior investigators. This part will ensure flexibility in keeping abreast of newly emerging directions and allow for re-orienting the principal projects as needed. This overall strategy is enabled by the success the center has demonstrated to date in creating an environment which fosters multi-investigator collaborations, interdisciplinary thinking and a sense of excitement at the possibility of helping build what is, in some ways, a new branch of physics. A main challenge at the biological physics frontier has been the training of physical scientists to become leaders in this inherently multi-disciplinary subject. A significant number of students and postdocs trained in the center have secured leading national and international positions in both physical and biological sciences. This cadre of talented individuals is contributing to the notion that deep physics-based conceptual approaches can now encompass living-system complexity. Educational approaches that have proven successful, including training workshops, a visiting scientist program, a biological physics curriculum and the seminar/reading courses/journal club activities are being continued. The process whereby students learn biological physics will be formalized to a great extent by integrating the courses into a comprehensive syllabus and by creating individualized plans for meeting biology background shortfalls. New ideas for disseminating center practices to the broader community are under development. The outreach program focuses on bringing under-represented groups into the research pipeline at the undergraduate level by working with partner institutions in Southern California. An earlier effort with Cal State University San Marcos is making progress, and this will be enhanced and expanded to other institutions. The overall excitement engendered by research into living systems will be exploited as a vehicle to interact with the K-12 educational sector.This award is jointly funded by the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) as part of a partnership to foster research and education at the mathematical and physical sciences - life sciences interface. Funds are provided by the Physics Frontiers Centers program and the Condensed Matter and Materials Theory program in MPS and the Biomolecular Systems cluster in BIO.