Thanks to a prestigious $1.2 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Colgate will be one of the few primarily undergraduate colleges or universities in the country where students can study systems biology, an important interdisciplinary field that uses complex mathematical analysis to study networks of interactions within living systems.
The grant will allow Colgate to hire a tenure-track systems biologist with a joint appointment in mathematics and biology, who will work with members of both departments to develop courses, laboratory modules, and pedagogical tools that will help students integrate the complex material associated with this rapidly expanding field.
Colgate also will introduce a new major — in mathematical biology — in fall 2009.
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| Ken Belanger said mathematical biology has the potential to improve the way medicine is practiced. |
Kenneth D. Belanger, associate professor of biology, will direct the HHMI grant program, which will include a variety of programs for Colgate students and outreach for K – 12 teachers and pre-college students.
These programs include summer research opportunities at Colgate, a systems biology speaker series, and a 10-week summer research program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Colgate students who will then participate in the NIH Study Group.
Colgate’s Upstate Institute will be integral in administering the HHMI-related outreach activities. These will include a science and sports camp for disadvantaged ninth- and 10th-grade students, and expansion of the university’s Science Affiliates program that provides workshops for science teachers in central New York.
The HHMI grant closely follows the opening of the Robert H.N. Ho Science Center, which houses classrooms, labs, and offices for five different departments and programs, as well as the new visualization lab, where 3D animations will allow students to visualize scientific principles and processes at many scales. The grant will provide funds to support the development of more 3D projects.
According to Belanger, interest in systems biology began in the 1950s but has come into vogue recently because of increased computational capacity and the increased availability of large data sets, such as genome sequencing projects and large-scale gene expression analyses.
“People have been using math to look at interactions within living systems, but systems biology allows one to ask very large questions about very complex sets of interactions between genes, proteins, cells, organism, and even populations,” he said.
“Mathematical biology and systems biology have the potential to impact not only our basic understanding of biological systems, but also the way we practice medicine,” he added. “Sophisticated mathematical models are being used to predict patterns of disease spread in epidemics and to identify ways to most efficiently distribute health-care supplies in response to disasters. And systems biology is central to the new field of personalized medicine and to the development of new drugs with fewer side effects and greater effectiveness.”