Center for Theoretical Biological Physics

生物物理学正在迅速成为21世纪科学的一个新的主要新领域。这个领域一方面涉及生物学和生物化学的思想和方法，另一方面涉及复杂系统的物理学。它的目标是发展一种新的、更定量的生物学的概念基础，并通过从进化中学习来扩展我们对复杂物质物理学的概念。位于加州大学圣地亚哥分校的理论生物物理中心（CTBP）将成为这一新兴学科的焦点，圣地亚哥超级计算机中心、斯克里普斯研究所和索尔克生物研究所也将参与其中。CTBP将利用这个以拉霍亚为基础的社区的广泛专业知识，开拓各种关键问题的新方法，包括遗传调控网络的进化和功能，蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用的特异性，细胞运动的动态控制和学习基础的突触机制。ITR赠款资助了一套补充性活动，重点是发展最先进的计算方法，以支持生物物理学。从本科生到高级研究员的多层次培训将直接纳入CTBP的研究工作；这对生物物理学来说尤其必要，因为它本质上是跨学科的，本质上要求理论和实验之间密切和持续的联系。我们的成功将由我们的会员和访客的具体研究成就以及在促进这个非常令人兴奋的物理研究领域在全国范围内的发展和一致性方面的总体效果来衡量。CTBP由数学和物理科学理事会物理部和生物科学理事会分子和细胞生物科学部联合资助。

Biological physics is rapidly emerging as a new major new frontier for science in the 21st century. This field involves a cross-fertilization of ideas and methods from biology and biochemistry on the one hand and the physics of comple systems on the other. Its goals are to both develop the conceptual underpinnings of a new and more quantitative biology as well as to expand our notions of complex matter physics by learning from evolution. The center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP), located at UC San Diego and with the participation of the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, will act as a focal point for this emerging discipline. The CTBP will utilize the broad expertise of this La Jolla-based community to pioneer new approaches to a whole variety of critical issues, including the evolution and functioning of genetic regulatory networks, the specificity of protein-protein interactions, the dynamic control of cell motility and the synaptic mechanisms underlying learning. A complementary set of activities focused on developing state-of-the-art computational methods in support of biological physics is being funded by an ITR grant. Training at multiple levels, from undergraduate up to senior investigator, will be integrated directly into the CTBP's research efforts; this is particularly necessary for biological physics, as it is inherently cross-disciplinary and inherently requires close and continual contact between theory and experiment. Our success will be measured both by the specific research accomplishments of our members and visitors and by the overall effect will have in fostering the nationwide growth and coherence of this immensely exciting field of physics research. The CTBP is jointly funded by the Division of Physics in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate and the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences in the Directorate for Biological Sciences.