UBM-Institutional: SUBMERGE--Supplying Undergraduate Biology and Mathematics Education and Research Group Experiences to Students at The University of Michigan. Training the Next Generation of Interdisciplinary Scientists.

NSF 06-541

Faculty in the Departments of Mathematics, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Emergency Medicine have been awarded $905,000 from NSF for proposing a revolutionary program that will allow undergraduate students to develop knowledge and acquire skills in research areas that are at the interface of Biology and Mathematics. Many of the challenges of contemporary biology and medicine lie at the intersection of the mathematical and biomedical sciences making the education and training of a scientific workforce capable of integrating these fields essential. The University of Michigan's SUBMERGE program merges the subjects of mathematics and biology for undergraduate students in three important ways: i) direct involvement in interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics, ii) exposure to experimental biology within mathematical modeling courses and exposure to quantitative analysis in biology courses, and iii) regular mentoring by teams of faculty researchers in each field.

SUBMERGE will provide the resources necessary to fully train the first sets of student cohorts, permanently change the existing curriculum in our departments and create a template for future use in the education and research mentorship of students interested in Biology and Mathematics. This proposal brings together an exciting group of faculty, both senior and junior to carry out our innovative strategy. Professor Patrick Nelson, mathematics, is the PI and the co-PI's are Professors Jackson (math), Shiefelbein (MCDB), Younger (Emergency Medicine), King (EEB) and Forger (math). The PI's are all enthusiastic about working with undergraduate students as well as with each other.

Intellectual Merit: Our proposal is based on interdisciplinary research training that spans the academic year as well as the summer months and curriculum innovations for mathematical biology majors, as well as students minoring in Biology or Mathematics. The University of Michigan is the proud home a variety of internationally recognized and award winning research programs as well as a new 140,000 square foot Undergraduate Sciences Building. The training portion of this proposal draws upon several of the existing research faculty interests and will combine the disciplines of Mathematics and Statistics with Cell and Molecular Biology, Immunology, Developmental Biology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The undergraduate research projects will all involve laboratory and modeling components to address research questions at the forefront of scientific discovery. Each project has been developed with the goal of high quality publications upon completion. Students will have the opportunity to investigate experimentally and mathematically the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced, to build synthetic genetic systems and model their behavior, and study the mechanical characteristics of bacterial aggregates in flowing blood.

Broader Impacts: The 21st century promises a new era of rapid growth of modern life science and biotechnology. This explosive growth of vibrant and novel scientific agendas and paradigms calls for an increase in the size as well as a shift in the philosophy of the scientifically trained work force. SUBMERGE graduates will be prepared for the interdisciplinary challenges that await them in graduate school or in industry. Our curriculum modifications will have an immediate impact on the approximately 300 students that major in mathematics every year. The new laboratory components that will supplement our existing Mathematical Biology courses as well as completed SUBMERGE projects, packaged as course modules, will be placed on the Internet to serve as a template for other Universities to follow.

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