UBM-Group: Research Mentoring in Mathematical Biology at New Mexico State University

生物学和数学科学系的研究人员正在创建一个数学生物学的跨学科项目，为本科生在该领域的研究生学习和未来的职业生涯做好准备。引入的关键要素包括：课程开发、跨学科教师团队对本科生的指导、点对点的互动和指导，以及广泛的支持和文化活动（讲习班、实地考察、研讨会和小组讨论）。该项目的核心是将生物学实验与数学监测相结合的长期跨学科研究经验。学生团队正在经历一个完整的研究周期，包括假设提出，模型开发和分析，实验设计和执行，数据分析和假设检验，手稿开发和提交，以及正式的报告。这项研究使用了一个单一的模型系统——果蝇，并跨越了生物学中的各种学科，包括发育生物学、生理学、进化生物学和种群生态学。研究项目涉及模型的概念化和构建（使用微分方程、差分方程和矩阵代数）、参数估计、数值分析和稳定性分析。会议遵循三个主要主题：转录网络模型在黑腹果蝇眼睛发育中的延伸2. 沃尔巴克氏体感染对拟果蝇宿主不亲和性的影响及生活史进化和3。模拟果蝇物种在饮食变化后的稳定同位素掺入动力学。智力优势：该项目采用了一个强大的指导模式，包括教师-学生，研究生-本科生，以及几个层次的点对点互动（高级和初级学生之间，不同研究小组的学生之间，以及研究小组内的学生之间）。由于研究项目涉及当前活跃的研究领域，而不是示范项目，学生将与他们的教师导师合作，在同行评审的期刊上发表论文，并在国家会议上发表论文。更广泛的影响：该项目支持一个大型西班牙裔服务机构的新研究和教育推力。从两门正式的数学生物学课程中吸取的经验教训被添加到当前的课程中，促进了该校园数学家和生物学家之间的互动，并作为两个系正在开发的跨学科数学生物学学位课程的跳板。此外，正在进行的外展活动是向当地初高中生物学生介绍数学生物学方法。该项目部分由生物科学理事会提供资金支持。

Researchers from the Departments of Biology and Mathematical Sciences are creating an interdisciplinary program in mathematical biology to prepare undergraduate students for graduate study and future careers in the field. Key elements being introduced include: curriculum development, undergraduate mentoring by interdisciplinary teams of faculty, peer-to-peer interaction and mentoring, and extensive support and cultural activities (workshops, field trips, seminars, and group discussions). The centerpiece of the project is long-term, interdisciplinary research experiences that combine biological experimentation with mathematical monitoring. Teams of students are experiencing a complete research cycle including hypothesis formulation, model development and analysis, experimental design and execution, data analysis and hypothesis testing, manuscript development and submission, and formal presentations.The research uses a single model system, Drosophila, and spans a variety of disciplines within biology including developmental biology, physiology, evolutionary biology, and population ecology. The research projects involve model conceptualization and construction (using differential equations, difference equations, and matrix algebra), parameter estimation, numerical analysis and stability analysis. Three major themes are being followed: 1. extension of transcriptional network models to eye development in Drosophila melanogaster; 2. consequences of Wolbachia infection to host incompatibility and life-history evolution in Drosophila simulans; and 3. modeling stable isotopes incorporation dynamics in Drosophila species following dietary shifts. Intellectual Merit: The project employs a robust mentoring model that involves faculty-student, graduate student-undergraduate student, and several layers of peer-to-peer interactions (between advanced and beginning students, between students in different research groups, and, naturally, between students within research groups). Since the research projects involve currently active research areas and are not demonstration projects, the students, in collaboration with their faculty mentors, are expected to publish in peer-reviewed journals and to present at national meetings.Broader Impacts: The project supports a new research and educational thrust within a large Hispanic serving institution. The lessons learned from the two formal mathematical biology courses being added to the current curriculum are fostering interactions between mathematicians and biologists on this campus and are serving as the springboard for an interdisciplinary mathematical biology degree program being developed by the two departments. In addition, on-going outreach activities are introducing a mathematical biology approach to local middle and high school biology students.This project is partially supported by funds from the Directorate for Biological Sciences.