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Course Summary

This course is designed to equip students to participate in one of the most exciting ventures on the scientific horizon, discovering how biological activity at higher levels emerges from molecular interactions. This synthesis requires that students be trained in novel ways. There is a particular need for new scientists who are familiar with structural biology and physiology on the one hand, and with the mathematical tools to simulate biological processes at multiple scales on the other. The new lab course will demonstrate numerical methods for ordinary and partial differential equations (both deterministic and stochastic), and methods for parallel computing and for visualization. These will be taught in the context of specific biological topics such as intracellular signal transduction, synaptic transmission, and synchronous contractile activity of cardiac myocytes. Existing lecture courses are interdisciplinary enough for students from all disciplines and will provide preparation. The TA will supervise interactive simulation exercises. A survey of graduate programs nationally found none that attempt to integrate all of these elements. The new laboratory course will include some lecture material to strengthen and integrate the intellectual strands of the course, but the emphasis will be on hands-on experiences organized into 2-week modules.

 

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