UBM-Group: An Integrative Analysis of Human Cancer: Exploiting the Synergy of Mathematical and Molecular Biological Approaches in Studying a Complex Problem

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This project develops a model of interdisciplinary training that takes advantage of the effectiveness of classroom instruction and the power of research experience. The project includes the linkage of a course in Biology, The Biology of Cancer, and a course in Mathematics, Mathematical Techniques in the Biological Sciences, in which cohorts of students will co-enroll in the spring semester of their junior year. Faculty will coordinate the courses so that they prepare the students for a year-long research experience. The research projects will use a common model system, a human leukemia cell line that can be "coerced" to exhibit normal cell properties in culture. Students will work in teams with the faculty mentor team to develop research projects that explore the molecular events that convert cells from the cancer state to the normal state, using modern methods that require integration of biological and mathematical techniques. The project brings together faculty with training in molecular biology and mathematics that can be synergistically applied to the study of an important and complex problem, the biology of cancer. Many of the important unanswered questions in science are likely to be solved in the 21st century through collaborative efforts involving individuals trained as interdisciplinary thinkers, and this project will nurture such interdisciplinary thinking at the undergraduate level. From 18-30 undergraduate students will gain in-depth interdisciplinary training and collaborative research experience through this 3-year program.