[Biomedical-cybernetics] Call for Applications: Algebraic Mathematical Biology, a NIMBioS Investigative Workshop

[Catherine Crawley]

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis  
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Investigative  
Workshop, "Discrete and Algebraic Mathematical Biology: Research and  
Education," to be held July 25-27, 2016, at NIMBioS.

*Objectives: *Over the past fifteen years, modern biology has been  
transformed by new mathematical methods that have complemented and  
driven biological discoveries. Problems from signaling, gene  
regulation, genomics, RNA folding, infectious disease dynamics, drug  
resistance modeling, phylogenetics, neuroscience, and ecological  
networks such as food webs, have increasingly benefited from the  
application of discrete mathematics and computational algebra. While  
the use of modern algebraic methods is now in mainstream mathematical  
biology research, this trend has been slow to influence the  
undergraduate math and biology curricula, where classical difference  
and differential equation models still dominate. Students interested  
in mathematical biology have relatively easy access to courses that  
utilize these classical analytic methods, and they generally have  
adequate exposure to such methods before deciding upon a graduate  
program. However, students interested in algebraic and discrete  
mathematical approaches have fewer doors visibly open to them, and  
indeed may not even know that they exist. There is a general lack of  
awareness in the academic community for the critical impact of such  
approaches on contemporary biology and there is an urgent need to  
develop educational resources highlighting this growing trend. Our 2.5- 
day workshop will bring together a diverse group of faculty from the  
field of algebraic and discrete mathematical biology to address this  
need by: 1) surveying existing educational resources in discrete and  
algebraic mathematical biology; 2) identifying topics appropriate for  
undergraduates not yet featured in the existing literature; 3)  
identifying target courses in the mathematics and biology curricula  
that would benefit most from featuring those topics; 4) initiating the  
development of new curricular materials and ultimately publishing the  
materials for those topics; 5) facilitating the growth of a community  
of faculty actively involved in creating and using curricular  
resources for algebraic mathematical biology.

*Location: *NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

*Co-Organizers: *Raina Robeva, Mathematics, Randolph-Macon College,  
VA; Matthew Macauley, Mathematical Sciences, Clemson Univ., SC; and  
John Jungck, Biological Sciences, Center for Bioinformatics and  
Computational Biology, Univ. of Delaware

For more information about the workshop and a link to the online  
application form, go to http://www.nimbios.org/workshops/WS_mathbio

Participation in the workshop is by application only. Individuals with  
a strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply, and successful  
applicants will be notified within two weeks of the application  
deadline. If needed, financial support for travel, meals, and lodging  
is available for workshop attendees.

*Application deadline:* April 25, 2016

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis  
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from  
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to  
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life  
sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation,  
with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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//
////////***************************** //
////Catherine Crawley, Ph.D. //
////Communications Manager//
////National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis  
(NIMBioS) //
////University of Tennessee //
////1122 Volunteer Blvd, Ste. 106//
////Knoxville, TN 37996//
////e ccrawley at nimbios.org //
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