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1st appeared
21
November
2000
$2.5 Million Award for Quantitative Biology Program UCSF is one of four US universities to receive a major award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) to encourage interdisciplinary training in the physical and biological sciences. UCSF will receive $2.5 million for its graduate program in quantitative biology, directed by David Agard, PhD, professor of biochemistry and biophysics, and Ken Dill, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry. The new program will complement the University’s existing interdisciplinary program between chemistry/physics and biology by incorporating mathematics and computer science into the mix. "Recent scientific advances make it possible to analyze complex biological phenomena, including disease processes, in terms of basic physical and chemical interactions of molecules," said BWF President Enriqueta C. Bond, PhD. "Indeed, some of the most promising recent discoveries in biomedicine now result from the insights and skills of investigators who have strong backgrounds in physics, chemistry, or mathematics." Examples of such interdisciplinary research include development of novel imaging tools and biosensors, application of nanotechnology to manipulate cellular systems, and the use of mathematical techniques to decipher biologically meaningful information encoded in the human genome. The award is part of the BWF Interfaces in Science program, which provide an opportunity for outstanding graduate and postdoctoral students from the physical, chemical, and computational sciences to apply their knowledge and talents to biological problems. In addition to UCSF, Boston University, Princeton, and the University of Chicago received a total of $9.25 million from BWF. "The awards help fill the gap left by federal funding efforts that are discipline-specific," said Bond. "Through these award programs, the Fund is trying to jump start a new type of training to meet the quantitative challenges emerging in biology." The Interfaces in Science institutional award program is not intended to introduce more graduate students into the research system, but rather to promote a different kind of training and a change in institutional behavior. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is an independent private foundation dedicated to advancing the medical sciences by supporting research and other scientific and educational activities. It conducts the majority of its grantmaking through competitive programs designed to support the career development of young scientists and to build capacity in research areas BWF believes to be undervalued or in need of targeted support. Links: |
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