UBM-Group: Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics Training Program at NJIT

新泽西理工学院（NJIT）的团体本科生物学和数学培训计划（G-UBMTP）将为数学和生物学专业的本科生提供长期的研究经验，利用新泽西理工学院数学系和生物系之间独特的紧密联系，并建立在之前nsf资助的机构UBM计划的成就和课程修改的基础上。这个项目的目标是继续培养学生熟练的实验和定量技术的结合应用。该提案旨在每年培训6名学生，分为三组，由数学科学系（NJIT）和联邦生物科学系（NJIT/Rutgers-Newark）的两位教师共同指导每组2名学生。该项目将于春季学期开始，学生将学习必修的数学生物学导论课程，完成其他学术要求，并开始在参与该项目的研究人员的实验室中进行轮转，同时参加每周的小组会议和研讨会。学员将在接下来的夏季花9周的时间从事所选的研究项目，该项目将在秋季学期继续进行。特别强调书面和口头沟通技巧的发展，要求学生在每周的小组会议上定期做报告。学生将以可发表的格式撰写研究结果和发现的最终报告。拟议的研究项目涵盖了不同的数学生物学领域，重点是神经科学、生态学或细胞生物学的不同主题，将由生物学系和数学系的11名研究人员指导，如果需要的话，还有一群具有跨学科经验的数学和生物学研究人员随时准备参与。该培训计划的主要目的是为新泽西理工大学的本科生提供参与多种结合生物学和数学的跨学科研究项目的机会，并为学生在细胞生物学、神经科学和生态学等日益跨学科的领域进行研究生学习或工业科学研究做好准备。为了实现这一目标，该项目将结合新泽西理工大学数学科学系和联邦生物科学系（新泽西理工大学/罗格斯-纽瓦克）的资源和优势。这两个学系的参与将进一步加强不同学科的研究人员之间的合作，推动新的研究项目，并有可能产生新的发现和发现。作为一所教学和研究机构，由于数学系和生物系之间历史悠久的跨学科联系，新泽西理工大学在实现这些目标方面处于特别有利的地位。事实上，参与该项目的几位主要研究人员在数学和生物科学系担任或曾担任过双重职务。这一建议的成功结果也可能成为其他机构加强跨学科合作的催化剂。此外，该项目将扩大对科学领域代表性不足群体的培训，因为NJIT是该国代表性不足群体和少数民族学生比例最高的大学之一。拟议的培训计划还将增加女性对研究的参与，因为在新泽西理工大学之前的机构UBM计划中，约有40%的参与者是女性。招收妇女和少数民族学生仍将是该项目的优先事项之一。最后，广泛传播学生研究项目的成果是本建议的一个组成部分，并将特别强调培训学员的口头和书面表达技能，这对于科学家未来的职业生涯和成功地将研究成果传播给更大的社区是必不可少的。

The Group Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics Training Program(G-UBMTP) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) will provide long-term research experience for undergraduate students majoring in Mathematics and Biology, taking advantage of the unique strong ties between the Departments of Mathematics and Biology at NJIT, and building upon the achievements and curricular modifications of the preceding NSF-funded Institutional UBM program. The goal of this Project is to continue the training of students skilled in the combined application of experimental and quantitative techniques. The proposal aims to train 6 students per year, broken into three groups, with joint mentoring of each 2-student group by a pair of faculty from the Department of Mathematical Sciences (NJIT) and the Federated Department of Biological Sciences (NJIT/Rutgers-Newark). The program will start in the spring semester, with students taking the required Introduction to Mathematical Biology course, fulfilling other academic requirements, and starting rotations through the laboratories of investigators involved in this Project, while attending weekly group meetings and seminars. The trainees will spend 9 weeks of the following summer working on the chosen research project, which will continue in the Fall Semester. Special emphasis will be made on the development of written and oral communication skills, with students required to make regular presentations at weekly group meetings. Students will write a final report of research results and findings, in a publishable format. The proposed research projects cover a diverse set of Mathematical Biology areas, focusing on different topics in Neuroscience, Ecology or Cell Biology, and will be guided by 11 investigators from the Departments of Biology and Mathematics, with an additional pool of Mathematics and Biology investigators with interdisciplinary experience ready to participate if need arises.The main aim of the proposed Training Program is to provide an opportunity for NJIT undergraduate students to participate in a variety of interdisciplinary research projects combining Biology and Mathematics and to prepare the students to pursue graduate studies or industrial scientific research in the increasingly interdisciplinary fields of Cell Biology, Neuroscience and Ecology. To accomplish this goal, this project will combine the resources and strengths of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at NJIT and the Federated Department of Biological Sciences (NJIT/Rutgers-Newark). The involvement of these two Departments will further increase the collaboration between investigators working within different academic disciplines, leading to new research projects, and potentially resulting in new findings and discoveries. As a teaching and research institution, NJIT is particularly well positioned to achieve these goals, due to historically strong interdisciplinary links between the Departments of Mathematics and Biology. In fact, several leading investigators involved in this project hold or have held dual appointments in the Departments of Mathematical and Biological Sciences. The successful outcome of this proposal may also serve as a catalyst for increased interdisciplinary collaborations at other institutions. Further, this Project will broaden the training of groups underrepresented in science, since NJIT has one of the highest proportions of students from underrepresented groups and minorities in the country. The proposed Training Program will also increase the involvement of women in research, as about 40% of the participants of the preceding Institutional UBM program at NJIT were women. The recruitment of women and minority students will remain one of the priorities for this Project. Finally, the broad dissemination of the results of the student research projects is an integral part of this proposal, and a special emphasis will be made on the training of oral and written presentation skills of the trainees, which are indispensable for the future career of a scientist and for the successful communication of research results to a larger community.