CSET Highlights Going Digital
Volume 5, Article 7
March, 2006
BioMaPS
(Biology and Mathematics in Population Studies)
 

BioMaPS group of faculty and students for 2006 calendar year, First Row (from left to right): Dr. Maeve McCarthy, Tiffany Hedrick (biology student), Dr. Nicole Gerlanc, Dr. Renee Fister, Ashley Hagan (mathematics student), Dr. Terry Derting Second Row(from left to right): Courtney Thomason (biology student), Dr. Howard Whiteman, Michael Cooper, Todd Schoborg (biology student), and Dr. Chris Mecklin.
      The Biology and Mathematics in Population Studies program (BioMaPS), an NSF UBM grant, creates a research environment for mathematics and biology students to study the designs and patterns that exist in populations at the organismal and cellular levels. The objective is to equip 25 students over a five year period with the skills to understand these patterns and to develop accurate models of biomedical and ecological phenomena. The proposed project is motivated by the increased need for professionals who can understand the mathematics behind biology and the biological implications of mathematical models.
      Five students each year will be selected for the program. The application deadline occurs in mid October. The actual work on the projects begins in January and runs through that calendar year. Students are allowed to reapply. The students and faculty are involved in weekly mentor meetings and bimonthly group meetings. Within these group meetings, discussions of their work are presented, talks from biomathematics speakers are given, help with graduate school is granted, and problem-solving strategies among the groups are developed.
Classroom presentations will give the BioMaPS students experience in explaining biomathematics concepts to non-specialists. The students will also attend a workshop in May, give presentations at local and regional meetings, work on their research plans part-time during the semester and full-time during the summer, and will compile a final report of their work.
      The principal investigators on the grant are as pictured from left to right: Drs. Maeve McCarthy, Howard Whiteman, Nicole Gerlanc, Renee Fister, Chris Mecklin, Terry Derting, and David Roach (not pictured). The students for this year are Courtney Thomason, Tiffany Hedrick, Michael Cooper, Todd Schoborg, and Ashley Hagan.
      If this piques your interest and/or you have students who would enjoy this experience, please let us know (renee.fister@murraystate.edu). Also, you can visit our website at www.murraystate.edu/biomath to learn more about past activities.

Please visit us at our College of Science, Engineering, & Technology web site
Created at the Science Resource Center, Blackburn Science Bldg.
BACK