Institute sponsors symposium to explore integration of math, biology
The Morgridge Institute for Research and the Graduate School are sponsoring a two-day symposium open to UW–Madison faculty and academic staff interested in exploring the interfaces connecting the mathematical, computational and biological sciences, and the major impact of these evolving interactions on research, education, training and discovery.
The symposium will be held Tuesday-Wednesday, Sept. 2-3, at the Microbial Sciences Building.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka, professor of pathobiological sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine; John Yin, professor of chemical and biological engineering; and Michael Katze, professor of microbiology and associate director and core staff scientist at the Washington National Primate Research Center, will lead participants through case studies highlighting established examples and growing opportunities for mathematics and its associated disciplines to drive transformative advances in biology.
Miron Livny, professor of computer sciences and director of the Center for High Throughput Computing; David Schwartz, professor of chemistry and genetics; and biological sciences faculty will lead participants through case studies to examine how several important problems have driven the integration and advancement of both the biological and computational sciences.
Murray Clayton, professor and chair of plant pathology and professor of statistics, will be joined by other transformational leaders in presenting curricula designed to help researchers from the mathematical, computational and biological sciences effectively communicate with each other. Additional participants will address the ongoing development of interdisciplinary programs to train new generations of researchers to better meet the opportunities and challenges of mathematical/computational biology.
The symposium sponsors anticipate strong participation from diverse faculty across campus. Registration details will be announced beginning in June.
This is the first of an ongoing series of symposia sponsored by the Morgridge Institute for Research to foster collaboration and discussions across disciplines. More information is available under events online.
The Morgridge Institute for Research is the private part of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a unique public-private initiative designed under one roof to facilitate interdisciplinary research and breakthrough discoveries to improve human health. Along with its public twin, the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the Morgridge Institute will open in 2010 in a new facility located on 1300 block of University Avenue at UW–Madison. Research at the Morgridge Institute focuses on facilitating collaborations across the fields of biology, computer science and bioengineering to advance medical discoveries.
