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

主要研究者来自Spelman学院，是系统生物学专家。系统生物学是生物学的一个领域，认为整体大于其部分的总和，并且真正理解复杂和动态的生物系统需要合并和整合来自数学，物理，工程和计算机科学的基本原理。这种理解被认为是利用生物学的全部潜力来维持地球上生命的必要条件。该项目将涉及来自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派曼校友。研讨会将探讨和制定一项战略，实施一个新的教育框架，将准备不同的学生群体在学科交叉的合作研究。研讨会的动机也是认识到，代表性不足的群体可能会更自然地向计算领域倾斜。因此，该讲习班通过纳入几个为少数群体服务的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，在学科融合和整合成为新标准的时代，培训未来的劳动力。这个方向的特点是认识到，生物系统的涌现特性不太可能通过还原论的方法来实现，这些方法通常揭示单个组件的细节，但对理解这些组件如何相互作用以维持不断变化的条件下的生活几乎没有贡献。该研讨会还代表了如何在学科交叉点推进教育和研究培训的新模式，特别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.