Workshop To Assess the Need and Structure For a Center For Math-Bio Modeling

该提案是一个研讨会，将讨论需要和设计一个中心，将促进数学和生物学的交叉互动，重点是科学界的建议和在相对较短的时间尺度上应对专业知识需求的能力。研讨会将提出可用于未来设计这样一个中心的想法。整个产品将是一份报告，将立即在网上提供，并在一段合理的时间后提供印刷版。该报告将重点关注中心的设计问题、中心的必要性、在供资、运作和评估方面可能出现的问题，以及在科学进步、培训和基础设施方面可以满足的需求。人们越来越认识到，生物学中许多基本问题的解决需要数学方法。过去将数学和生物学结合起来的成功案例包括从提高基本的理论理解到开发具有社会重要性的问题的实际解决方案。今天，许多紧迫的问题需要使用数学方法，包括重要的应用问题，如传染病的建模，改善人类活动对环境的影响，以及了解许多动物和植物疾病的基础生物学。

This proposal is for a workshop that will discuss both the need for and design of a center that would promote interaction at the intersection of mathematics and biology that would focus on both proposals from the scientific community and the ability to respond to needs for expertise on relatively short time scales. The workshop will develop ideas that could be used in the future design of such a center. The overall product will be a report that will be available immediately on the web, as well as in a print version after a reasonable amount of time. The report will focus both on issues of the design of a center, the need for a center, what potential issues would arise in funding and operation and evaluation, as well as the kinds of needs that could be met both in terms of scientific advances and training and infrastructure. It is becoming increasingly recognized that the solutions to many essential problems in biology require mathematical approaches. Past successes at combining mathematics and biology have ranged from improving basic theoretical understanding to developing practical solutions to problems of societal importance. Today, many pressing problems require the use of mathematical approaches, including important applied questions, such as the modeling of infectious diseases, ameliorating the effects of human activities on the environment, and understanding the basic biology underlying many animal and plant diseases.