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First Young Researchers Workshop in Mathematical Biology

March 29 - April 1, 2005

Organizers: MBI Postdocs

The Mathematical Biosciences Institute will held the First Young Researchers Workshop in Mathematical Biology, March 29 - April 1, 2005, organized by the MBI Postdoctoral Fellows.

The principal aim of the workshop was to bring together approximately 40 young researchers in Mathematical Biology, to broaden their scientific perspective, and to develop connections that will be important for their future careers.

The workshop included several plenary talks by leading researchers in Mathematical Biosciences. The plenary speakers were: Charles Peskin, James Keener, Tamar Schlick, Claudia Neuhauser, Alex Mogilner, and Louis Gross. There was also a panel discussion led by Kirk Jordan (IBM) and Frank Tobin (GlaxoSmithKline) on "How to develop a career in mathematical biology in industry."

The workshop included poster presentations and short talks by the young researchers, and working group discussions on broad scientific issues that bridge the gap between data, modeling, and applications.

Thursday Working Group Session

This topic got a lot of public attention recently 'thanks to' Harvard University President Larry Summers speech on gender disparities in the sciences (see e.g. cover story, TIME magazine, issue 07/03/05). So we could discuss this topic specifically for mathematical biology. As it is a new emerging field in the sciences, how can we avoid/prevent gender disparities from the very beginning? Recently hired faculty have the chance to influence the hiring for future collegues more than in any other fields! How can we attract woman/minority students to math-biology? To provide a basis for successful faculty hiring in math-biology, we have to attract undergraduate students to the subject (actually already in high school).

Anyone seeking a mathematical/biological collaboration soon learns that considerable exploratory efforts are necessary to identify and vet potential collaborators. It is important to minimize the time spent pursuing dead-ends and equally important to know how to spot the best opportunities. What knowledge can be gleaned from our collective experience to guide us in forming these connections effectively?

Friday Working Group Session

How has curriculum in mathematical biology been integrated into pre-existing graduate and under-graduate degree programs? We'll discuss experiences attendees have had in implementing such courses. We will also discuss the emergence of degree programs in Mathematical Biology. Hopefully we can summarize what has worked in the past and suggest what would be good to try in the future.

What new mathematical and computational tools will be needed to address future biological challenges? What areas of biology will benefit the most from using mathematics? What can we learn from the past, for example from the successful use of mathematics in physics? But, since biology is different from physics, how will mathematical biology be different from mathematical physics?

What are the current sources of funding? How to get funding in the future as mathematical biologists.

Where do we see mathematical biology (or bio-mathematics) fitting within university system? Should it be a separate entity or fit within one of the departments? Do we need to convince mathematicians that it is related to mathematics? If so, how do we do it? Do we believe it can be useful to biologists? If so, how do we convince them?