Mathematical and Computational Biology track in the Biology Major.

Mathematical and computational approaches are being increasingly utilized in all areas of biological science, whether in basic research or in the many areas of applied biology. The Mathematical and Computational Biology track provides students majoring in Biological Science a variety of coursework and research experiences to help prepare them for careers in biology utilizing these computational approaches. This track also confers eligibility to apply for financial support through Hughes Fellowships.

Basic Curriculum

Student on this track fulfill the normal requirements for the Biological science major including:

Collateral requirements in chemistry, organic chemistry , mathematics/statistics and physics

Required courses including the biological science core sequence (BSC 2010. 2010L, 2011, 2011L) , Plant Biology ( BOT 3015), Genetics (PCB 3063), Evolution ( PCB 4674) and Experimental Biology (BSC 3402L).

A total of 19 hours of biology electives:

enrollment in 5 laboratories

enrollment in 2 area courses

Specific enrollment to provide mathematical and computation emphasis should include:

Expanding collateral requirement enrollment to include both Statistics for Biology and Calculus II.

Taking physics with calculus to fulfill the collateral requirement in physics

Fulfilling the Experimental Biology requirement by taking a 2- semester research DIS in Computational Biology

Taking the following specific Biology Electives :

Programming Skills for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (3 Cr)

Introduction to Bioinformatics (3cr)

Biological Modeling ( offered by Math ) ( 3Cr)

Taking additional Biology electives to reach 19 hours total elective credit and to fulfill area requirements ( 10 Cr)

STUDENTS ON THE MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY TRACK CAN APPLY FOR HUGHES FELLOWSHIPS

About the Fellowships

Students who are pursuing the Mathematical and Computational Biology track are eligible to apply for a Hughes Fellowship during the Fall semester of the Junior year. The Fellowships are awarded to students who have reached senior status ( 90 credit hours) at the start of the Summer semester preceding their senior year. Selection of 12 Fellows per year is made on a competitive basis by the Hughes Faculty Advisory Committee.

Specific Fellowship activity

Hughes Fellows are paired with one or more FSU Science Faculty members to carry out research. A large number of faculty members in the Departments of Biological Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics have volunteered to serve as mentors to Hughes Fellows. All have strong mathematical/computational components in their biological research and will be able to expose students to a variety of modern computational methods. Advising staff work with Hughes Fellows to identify faculty to serve as research sponsors. We anticipate that many Hughes Fellows will interact with more than one mentor over the one-year period of research, for example in cases where data are collected in one laboratory then computationally evaluated in a second laboratory. It is also possible to incorporate Hughes research into an Honors in the Major project.

Research is conducted throughout the one year duration of the Fellowship (Summer- Spring) but is most concentrated during the Summer semester. Summer term can either be devoted to full time research without enrollment in courses or to doing research while enrolled in one course (related to the computational studies or required for completion of the major/ minor). Fellows also attend a (non-credit) weekly seminar to further introduce them to computation biology and to general issues confronting biological researchers. During the Fall and Spring semesters Fellows continue reduced levels of research for DIS credit along with their senior year course work. Many Biology majors fulfill their Experiment Biology course requirement through enrollment for research DIS credit.

Coursework

Hughes fellows complete their remaining Mathematical and Computational Biology track course work during the fall and spring of their senior year.

Students who are interested in pursuing the Mathematical and Computational Biology track should report this interest to one of the Biology Department advisors ( Room 204 Conradi ) and become registered as a student on the track. This will allow advisors to help schedule your courses, track your progress, and advise you of procedures for applying for future Hughes Fellowships .