Finding Your Inner Modeler-year 3

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Abstract

One of the major problems in Cell Biology is that detailed knowledge of specific molecular or cellular events is not integrated across time and space, and investigators lack the understanding of how one event relates to or influences another to result in the totality of cellular responses. Understanding how a specific atomic or molecular reaction results in the overall cellular behavior is extremely difficult by experimentation alone, and computational modeling is required to significantly advance our understanding. The main goals of the workshop funded by this award are to promote the discovery of biophysical laws that govern cellular differentiation and homeostasis by promoting the interdisciplinary collaborations between experimental cell biologists and computational modelers. The workshop aims to provide unique opportunities for cell biologists and computational modelers to work together to develop predictive understanding of the cell. The workshop also provides a unique educational experience for researchers who participate. Organizers will work with professional societies to ensure the recruitment of faculty from underrepresented groups as well as graduate students and postdocs and other early career professionals. This award will provide funding for a 3rd year extension of the extremely successful "Finding your Inner Modeler (FYIM)" workshops supported by the NSF MCB Award 1649160 during 2017 and 2018. The vision for the 3rd year workshop is to use the 2-day format to continue the goals articulated in the original proposal to: 1) stimulate interest in computational modeling among scientists currently not using this approach; 2) promote the formation of interdisciplinary collaborations between cell biologists and computational modelers; and 3) develop an information and guidance network to provide advice to cell biologists and computational scientists on how to start a collaboration, who to contact, and what resources are available to support collaborations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.