2018 Quantitative Biology (q-bio) Summer School at Rice University

该奖项为“2018年莱斯大学q-bio暑期学校”的参与者提供部分旅行/生活支持，该学校将于2018年6月11日至24日在莱斯大学举行，紧接国际q-bio会议。“Q-Bio”代表定量生物学，反映了暑期学校的目标，即结合生物学和数学方法来理解生物细胞在健康和疾病中的进化和功能。单个细胞以不同的（“嘈杂的”）方式对病毒等刺激作出反应，但它们的相互作用是一种协调的免疫反应，可以用数学来预测。另一个例子是化疗对白血病的影响，可能会留下少量残留的恶性细胞，导致疾病复发。同样，利用数学和计算机模拟，预测这种情况如何以及何时发生是可能的。q-bio学院鼓励早期职业科学家从事定量系统生物学，并为交流新成果和想法提供了一个论坛。学院的独特模式包括积极参与研究项目，其中一些项目导致了科学进步和出版。该暑期学校于2007年在新墨西哥州洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室的校园内发起，过去的暑期学校非常成功，有超过85%的积极评价，76%的前参与者积极从事定量生物学研究。目前，莱斯大学校园内的学院利用了休斯顿健康中心、贝勒医学院和MD安德森癌症中心。学院之后将在莱斯大学举行年度q-bio会议。在过去的11年里，q-bio暑期学校发展了一个由4-500名校友组成的广泛网络，并积极促进了参与者的多样性。预计2018年将有两个教育方向：癌症动力学和随机细胞调节。该项目将持续两周，包括：10个1小时的研究研讨会；10次1.5小时的一般性讲座；30小时的深度分组讨论、粉笔讲座和计算机实验室演示；8个以职业为重点的小组讨论；学生口头报告20份；两次海报会议；指导项目工作20小时以上；以及正式和非正式的社交机会。随机细胞调节（Stochastic Cell Regulation）课程探索生化系统测量和建模中的随机性和细胞间可变性，重点研究少量重要分子（即基因、RNA和蛋白质）如何影响活细胞的动力学。癌症动力学的轨道解决了与癌症进化建模相关的生物学和数学问题。讲座涵盖了许多时间和长度尺度的主题，从细胞增殖和突变动力学的基本问题到影响细胞特定途径和群体遗传学效应的分子事件。暑期学校的这一部分包括教师建议的小组项目，学生们在其中制定和探索癌症进化的随机模型，并应用这些工具来模拟实验和临床数据。更多信息可以在q-bio学院的网站http://q-bio.org/wp/qbss/2018schedule/This上找到，该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The award provides partial travel/subsistence support for participants of the "2018 q-bio Summer School at Rice University,' to be held June 11-24, 2018 at Rice University, immediately preceding the international q-bio Conference. "Q-Bio" stands for Quantitative Biology and reflects the Summer School's goal to combine biological and mathematical methods to understanding the evolution and function of biological cells in health and disease. Individual cells respond to stimuli such as viruses in different ("noisy") ways, but their interaction is a coordinated immune response which can be predicted using mathematics. Another example is the effect of chemotherapy on leukemias, which may leave small numbers of residual malignant cells and lead to recurrence of disease. Again, it is possible to predict, using mathematics and computer simulations, how and when this may happen. The q-bio School encourages early career scientists to pursue quantitative systems biology and provides a forum for the exchange of new results and ideas. The unique formula of the School includes active participation in research projects, some of which lead to scientific progress and publications. The Summer School originated in 2007 on the campus of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and past summer schools have been very successful, with over 85% positive reviews and 76% former participants actively engaged in quantitative biology research. The current School at Rice University campus takes advantage of the Houston Health Center, the Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center. The School will be followed by the Annual q-bio Conference at Rice University. Over 11 years the q-bio Summer School has developed an extensive network of 4-500 alumni and actively promotes participant diversity.Two educational tracks are envisioned in 2018: Cancer Dynamics and Stochastic Cell Regulation. The program will last two weeks and include: ten 1-hour research seminars; ten 1.5-hour general lectures; 30 hours of in-depth breakout discussions, chalk talks and computer lab demonstrations; 8 career-focused panel discussions; 20 student oral presentations; two poster sessions; 20+ hours of mentored project work; and formal and informal networking opportunities. The Stochastic Cell Regulation track explores stochasticity and cell-to-cell variability in the measurement and modeling of biochemical systems, concentrating on how small numbers of important molecules (i.e. genes, RNA, and protein) affect dynamics of living cells. The Cancer Dynamics track addresses biological and mathematical issues related to modeling of evolution of cancer. Lectures cover topics spanning many time- and length-scales, from fundamental issues of cell proliferation and mutation dynamics to molecular events affecting specific pathways in cells and population genetics effects. This section of the summer school includes instructor-suggested group projects, in which students formulate and explore stochastic models of cancer evolution, applying these tools to model experimental and clinical data. More information can be found at the q-bio School's website http://q-bio.org/wp/qbss/2018schedule/This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.