REU Site: Mathematical Biology Team Science (MBioTS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program at Clarkson University

Clarkson University, Potsdam NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The Mathematical Biology Team Science (MBioTS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at Clarkson University is a ten-week interdisciplinary research summer experience for undergraduate students. The objective of the program is to train students interested in quantitative biology through an immersive team science approach. The program is designed to prepare future biologists and applied mathematicians to effectively communicate and collaborate across disciplines to solve problems arising in the biological sciences. The targeted population for the MBioTS REU site includes students from a diverse set of academic backgrounds such as mathematics, biology, health sciences, physics, computer science, and engineering. Students will be recruited nationally, with a focus on women, underrepresented groups in STEM, and students at institutions with limited research opportunities. The faculty mentors have expertise working collaboratively in mathematical biology, and the research projects span biological phenomena ranging from ecology, cell biology, and public health. Participants will develop skills applicable in collaborative science, in science communication, in publishing and presenting research results, and in graduate studies and careers in STEM. The MBioTS REU program will introduce students to interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biology and mathematics through projects that directly combine experimental and theoretical components. Students will work in pairs on mentored research, with one participant focused on data collection in a laboratory setting and the other focused on computational and mathematical analysis. Each team will be mentored by faculty from both the Biology and Mathematics Departments at Clarkson. A key component of the MBioTS REU will be the close interaction between student team members across disciplines, as they collaboratively design both experiments and models to address biological questions. The program will also include research seminars on mathematical biology projects from faculty both at Clarkson University and other institutions. The skills students develop are versatile and broadly applicable, and include experimental design, modeling, computation, data fitting and uncertainty quantification, and mathematical analysis. Technical communication skills will also be emphasized via research presentations, and professional development seminars intended to prepare students for graduate school and scientific careers. 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.