The potential for interactions between mathematics and biology can be developed
only by careful nurturing. Some of the isolated interactions between the two
disciplines have been discussed in a limited fashion in the earlier overview.
The interactions are occurring because the questions exist and efforts are
being made by interdisciplinary collaborations or individuals. But this
interaction can be strengthened through attention to the modes and levels of
support that will encourage such interactions. Specific recommendations
follow.
It is recommended that funds for the support of interdisciplinary
research between biological and computational scientists and mathematicians be
dramatically increased. Projects could take several forms including the
following.
1. Projects involving interdisciplinary research by a single investigator.
2. Interdisciplinary groups of mathematicians, biologists and computational
scientists of sizes ranging from two individual investigators to networks of
individuals from the different disciplines at different universities.
Related to these projects is the further recommendation that specific
guidelines for the review process of such proposals be considered. Databases
of reviewer names who have biological, mathematical and computational
expertise, or any combination of those skills, should be developed and made
available to administrators at all involved federal agencies.
It is extremely important that adequate computer facilities and support
of such facilities be provided. It is recommended that:
1. Funding for computer facilities and support of those facilities be
considered to be intrinsic to all awards made.
2. Funding for clearinghouses for software development, maintenance and
distribution be made available.
3. Support be provided for networks for database access and network
collaborations.
Training in this interdisciplinary field must be regarded as a lifelong
exercise. It must start early and continue for the professional lifetime of
the scientist. Thus, recommendations for such continuing education are made
for several levels of training.
5.3.1 Precollege and Undergraduate Education
Children, both in primary and secondary school, have a natural interest in
biology. In the past, this has been limited largely to field biology or
experiments that are chosen for minimal cost rather than the long range view of
building a base for exciting the child into consideration of quantitative
biology as a career. While this remains perhaps the most natural avenue for
arousing the curiosity of a child about the nature of biology, quantification
must be introduced at an earlier stage. This is a natural area to show
students projects and group efforts consistent with new mathematics curricula
(see Mathematical Sciences Education Board, National Research Council 1990;
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Commission on Standards for School
Mathematics 1989). Few of these applications appear in textbooks, and most are
absent entirely from the preparation of teachers. Our recommendations are
to:
1. Develop curriculum materials in mathematical biology for grades K through
12 and commit special teacher enhancement funds to introduce these materials to
the nation's cadre of teachers.
2. Establish a program of summer internships for high school students and/or
undergraduate students in which the students would spend two months working
with mathematicians or biologists.
3. Support faculty at undergraduate institutions for training and research
experiences that will further their knowledge and interest in the
cross-discipline.
4. Support summer workshops developed for high school or undergraduate level
faculty or/and students that focus on biological subdisciplines in which
mathematics and computation play a large role. Instructors should be recruited
from both disciplines. A paradigm might be the Computational Neurobiology
Course at Woods Hole, MA.
5. Support workshops and conferences to develop methods for introducing
significant quantitative tools to be introduced naturally into precollege and
undergraduate biology curricula.
6. Support graduate students in applied mathematics and/or biology with an
interest in the other discipline to work with high school and/or undergraduate
students as teaching assistants or in other more imaginative ways to develop
the younger students' interest.
5.3.2 Graduate and Postdoctoral Training
The recommendations is this category are designed to improve the
quantitative knowledge of biologists, to improve the biological knowledge of
mathematicians, to facilitate ongoing collaborations, and to encourage new
collaborations.
1. Specifically target a substantial number of graduate fellowships in the
biological sciences to individuals with undergraduate degrees in the
mathematical or computer sciences or vice versa.
2. Support special cross-disciplinary postdoctoral fellowships that will allow
Ph.D.'s in one field to work in the other field.
3. Hold mini-courses, lasting four to eight weeks, in areas where both
biological insight and mathematical or computational expertise are needed.
Levels would be appropriate for graduate or post-doctoral students in one of
the disciplines with more basic information in the cross-discipline.
5.3.3 Senior Established Investigators
It is recognized that established scientists with expertise in biology,
mathematics and computational sciences are rare. It thus becomes important, at
least initially, to encourage and facilitate efforts by scientists in one
discipline to cross over into the other discipline to answer significant
questions. Are recommendations are to:
1. Establish special mid-career fellowships for mathematical or computer
scientists to join biological teams or individuals to enhance their biological
insight and for biologists to work with mathematicians for varying lengths of
time.
2. Support special visiting arrangements, both short- and long-term, be
supported for scientists from one discipline to work with scientists from the
other disciplines to encourage greater insight into the use of mathematics in
biology.
Several federal funding agencies already have a number of programs that
encourage and seek out under-represented groups (women, minorities and persons
with disabilities) in the sciences. This effort should continue that emphasis.
All of the disciplines considered in this initiative have under-representation
of minorities and people with disabilities. A significant number of biologists
are women, but the number of female mathematicians decreases as the level of
the degree increases. It is hoped, that as mathematical biology develops as a
field, this statistic will change.