Conference: A Strategic Planning Workshop to Explore Quantitative Biology as a Vehicle for Broadening Participation to be held at Spelman College on March 11 and 12, 2016

首席研究员来自斯佩尔曼学院，是系统生物学专家。系统生物学是生物学的一个领域，它认为整体大于部分之和，真正理解复杂和动态的生物系统需要结合和整合源自数学、物理、工程学和计算机科学的基本原理。这种理解被认为对于充分利用生物学的潜力来维持地球上的生命是必要的。该项目将涉及亚特兰大地区机构的学者和管理人员以及在著名研究机构担任教职的斯佩尔曼校友。该研讨会将探索和制定一项实施新颖教育框架的战略，该框架将为不同的学生群体做好跨学科合作研究的准备。该研讨会的动机还在于认识到代表性不足的群体可能会更自然地倾向于计算领域。因此，该研讨会通过纳入几个少数族裔服务机构和区域研究机构，产生了更广泛的影响。该项目基于一种新的思维方式，即在学科融合和整合成为新标准的时代培训未来的劳动力。这一方向的特点是认识到生物系统的新兴特性不太可能通过还原论方法来实现，还原论方法通常揭示各个组成部分的细节，但对理解这些组成部分如何相互作用以在不断变化的条件下维持生命几乎没有贡献。该研讨会还代表了如何在学科交叉领域推进教育和研究培训的新模式，重点强调代表性不足的群体更广泛地参与“新生物学”学术环境。

The principle investigator is from Spelman College and is an expert in Systems Biology. Systems Biology is a field of biology that argues that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that true understanding of complex and dynamic biological systems requires the incorporation and integration of fundamental principles derived from mathematics, physics, engineering and computer science. This understanding is thought to be necessary for harnessing the full potential of biology to sustain life on earth. The project will involve academics and administrators from regional Atlanta institutions and Spellman alumni who hold faculty positions at prominent research institutions. The workshop will explore and develop a strategy for implementing a novel educational framework that would prepare diverse student populations for collaborative research at the intersection of disciplines. The workshop is motivated also by the realization that underrepresented groups might gravitate more naturally toward the computational areas. As such, this workshop offers significant broader impacts through inclusion of several minority-serving institutions and regional research one institutions.This project is based on a novel way of thinking about training a future workforce in times where the convergence and integration of disciplines becomes the new standard. This direction is characterized by the recognition that emergent properties of biological systems are unlikely to be realized through reductionist approaches that generally reveal details about individual components, but contribute little toward an understanding of how these components interact to sustain live under ever-changing conditions. This workshop also represents a new model for how to advance education and research training at the intersections of disciplines, with a strong emphasis on a broader involvement of underrepresented groups in the "new biology" academic setting.