March 2003

From National Science Foundation

Using computational power tools to bolster systems biology

NSF workshop links modern mathematics to studies of cells, organs, plants, animals

ARLINGTON, Va. – The introduction of “eigenmode” number-crunching to the study of ion flow in heart-thumping typifies what can happen when computational mathematics meets systems biology. To help the two disciplines get better acquainted, the National Science Foundation is sponsoring a workshop to explore how computational innovations can lead to a greater understanding of how the components of life interact at levels larger than chromosomes and smaller than populations — or generally in the context of cells, organs and organisms.

The workshop is being held today and tomorrow, March 27-28, at Utah State University in Provo.

Titled “The Roles of Mathematics and Computation in Systems and Integrative Biology,” the workshop will bring together more than 20 biologists, mathematicians and engineers, many of them researchers supported by NSF, will try to determine which methods hold the most promise, what obstacles exist, and how to promote their broader use by biologists.

Journalists are welcome to attend the workshop or follow up by contacting its participants and organizers. For details, contact the following at Utah State:
James Powell, associate professor of mathematics, (435) 797-1953, [email protected]
Maren Cartwright, science PR specialist, (435) 797-1355, [email protected]

Workshop details are also at this web site: http://www.math.usu.edu/~powell/workshop03/.

A news feature accompanies this advisory.

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What: “The Roles of Mathematics and Computations in Systems and Integrative Biology,” a workshop funded by the National Science Foundation, with topics ranging from brain dynamics during epilepsy to the biochemistry of evolution.

Where: Utah State University, Provo, Utah.

When: March 27-28, 2003; all day both days.

Who: James Powell, coordinator, associate professor of mathematics at USU; 10 presenters; 21 participating scientists and engineers; and others.

Why: To incorporate more broadly into the realm of systems biology the use of modern mathematical methods and computational “power tools,” and thereby foster discoveries about cells, organs, organisms and other components of life.