A major feature of biological science in the 21st century will be its transition from phenomenological and descriptive science to quantitative science. Revolutionary opportunities have emerged for mathematically driven advances in biological research. In the past four years, the Department of Mathematics and the Quantitative Biology and Modeling Initiative (QBMI) at Michigan State University have identified mathematical biology as a research area of focus. Our mathematical biology program emphasizes collaborations between the mathematical scientists and appropriate biological scientists. We feel strongly that the time has come to reach out beyond MSU by sponsoring a meeting to bring together researchers from mathematics and biological sciences to exchange ideas and to foster collaborations. We expect this to be the first in a series of annual meetings with this objective. | |