UBM Institutional: Integrated Research in Biomathematics at Trinity University

UBM 机构：三一大学生物数学综合研究

• 批准号: 0926702
• 负责人: Saber Elaydi
• 金额: $ 90万
• 依托单位: Trinity University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0926702&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: UBM; Institutional; Integrated; Research; Biomathematics

This proposal builds upon a growing interdisciplinary focus on Mathematical Biology at Trinity University previously supported by two consecutive HHMI grants. Here, we seek to increase the number of faculty conducting interdisciplinary research programs to catalyze more sustainable, widespread interdisciplinary learning among Mathematics and Biology majors. Participating mathematics and biology faculty will work in teams with students from both disciplines on projects including (1) Modeling the heat shock response of barely aleurone layers; (2) Homology detection in large DNA sequence datasets; (3) Quantitative description of protein localization; (4) Modeling competition as a determinant of invasion success; (5) Modeling spatial distributions of mammals; (6) Mathematical modeling of mitochondrial function and death of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons; and (7) Chemostat propagation of mixed bacteriophage Lambda-Escherichia coli K12 populations as a model system of predator-prey co-evolution. These projects represent expertise from a number of biological and mathematical subdisciplines, including genetics, ecology, cell biology, neuroscience, statistics, probability, dynamical systems, difference equations, mathematical biology, algebraic geometry and systems and data modeling. Success in most future scientific endeavors will require interdisciplinary thinking. A truly interdisciplinary research environment is difficult to achieve, however, even among current PhD programs. At the undergraduate level, interdisciplinary collaborations have traditionally been even more limited due to the perception of incomplete disciplinary backgrounds and ongoing cognitive development of young researchers. To meet this challenge at the intersection between mathematics and biology, the Integrated Research in Biomathematics(IRBM) at Trinity University initiative will build on the relationship between our departments by forming research partnerships involving faculty and students, as well as deepening our curricular collaboration.Specifically, we propose to establish research groups consisting of undergraduate and faculty researchers from both of these disciplines that will apply biological and mathematics approaches to a wide spectrum of biological questions. To support these and other students, the departments will offer new interdisciplinary courses, as well as increase the collaboration in existing courses, culminating in the creation of a new minor in biomathematics. Through these changes we will engage undergraduates with a wide range of interests and preparation, while developing a larger community of like-minded researchers, all in an effort to prepare these students for the future of interdisciplinary research.

该提案建立在三一大学对数学生物学日益增长的跨学科关注之上，此前曾连续两次获得 HHMI 拨款的支持。在这里，我们寻求增加开展跨学科研究项目的教师数量，以促进数学和生物学专业更可持续、更广泛的跨学科学习。参与的数学和生物学教师将与两个学科的学生合作开展项目，包括（1）模拟糊粉层的热休克反应； (2)大型DNA序列数据集中的同源性检测； (3)蛋白质定位的定量描述； (4) 将竞争建模为入侵成功的决定因素； (5) 模拟哺乳动物的空间分布； (6) 线粒体功能和黑质多巴胺能神经元死亡的数学模型； (7) 混合噬菌体 Lambda-大肠杆菌 K12 群体的恒化繁殖，作为捕食者-猎物共同进化的模型系统。这些项目代表了许多生物和数学子学科的专业知识，包括遗传学、生态学、细胞生物学、神经科学、统计学、概率、动力系统、差分方程、数学生物学、代数几何以及系统和数据建模。未来大多数科学事业的成功都需要跨学科思维。然而，即使在当前的博士项目中，真正的跨学科研究环境也很难实现。在本科阶段，由于年轻研究人员不完整的学科背景和持续的认知发展，传统上跨学科合作更加有限。为了应对数学和生物学交叉领域的这一挑战，三一大学的生物数学综合研究（IRBM）计划将通过建立涉及教师和学生的研究伙伴关系以及深化我们的课程合作来建立我们各院系之间的关系。 ，我们建议建立由来自这两个学科的本科生和教师研究人员组成的研究小组，将生物学和数学方法应用于广泛的生物学问题。为了支持这些学生和其他学生，各院系将提供新的跨学科课程，并加强现有课程的合作，最终创建一个新的生物数学辅修课程。通过这些改变，我们将吸引具有广泛兴趣和准备的本科生，同时发展一个更大的志同道合的研究人员社区，所有这些都是为了让这些学生为跨学科研究的未来做好准备。