Phase II of successful program set to begin
The Program in Interdisciplinary Biological & Biomedical Sciences or PiBBs, a program at the University of New Mexico developed in the Biology Department, has received a five-year, $970,000 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to initiate Phase II program development. UNM was one of eight institutions selected to move onto Phase II.
"The University of New Mexico has put together an interdisciplinary training program focused on the uses of computational and techniques in applied and theoretical biology”, said Dr. Richard Baird, director, Division of Interdisciplinary Training at NIH-NiBiB. “This training program, which uses an innovative team-mentoring approach, has successfully attracted a number of students from the biological and physical sciences interested in exploring the interdisciplinary boundaries among these disciplines."
PiBBs is a cross-departmental, college and institutional collaboration of students and faculty interested in interdisciplinary biological research. The interdisciplinary collaboration involves the UNM departments of anthropology, biology, computer science, electrical and electrical and computer engineering, physics, math and statistics, and Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Santa Fe Institute. The program began in 2005 when UNM was one of 10 institutions out of 132 applicants selected to receive $1million in grant funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
“We are moving forward rapidly with the program,” said Distinguished Professor of Biology and Program Director James Brown. “The Phase II funding indicates this program is working. The faculty involved have done a great job and the students have all been very successful.”
The stimulus for PiBBS was the recognition that continued progress in fundamental problems in biology and biomedical science requires the input of new ideas, methodologies, and investigative strategies from the physical sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Few scientists are trained or possess the necessary skills to conduct effective interdisciplinary work and PiBBs was created to help initiate fundamental changes in the way Ph.D. scientists are trained.
“The UNM program teaches students to think broadly, deeply, and creatively - just as the program directors did when they developed this curriculum,” said Dr. Maryrose Franko, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. “HHMI was immediately impressed by the flexibility and individuality of the opportunities available to the Interfaces Scholars, as well as the strength and diversity of the institutional partnerships UNM has forged in the local scientific community.”
PiBBS was designed to pick up where earlier interdisciplinary training left off; to solidify and institutionalize highly successful informal programs already in existence at UNM and to promote, establish and maintain a vibrant culture of highly interactive interdisciplinary scholars.
In addition to the 10 “HHMI Interfaces Scholars at UNM” supported directly in Phase I, more than 50 graduate students from seven different departments are affiliated with the program, participating in courses and other enrichment activities.
The program will ultimately lead to an interdisciplinary Ph.D. concentration in Integrative Biology. It will provide an innovative set of courses and activities designed to develop a common baseline of mathematical, computational and biological knowledge and skills necessary for successful interdisciplinary collaborations and expose students to the disparate ways in which various scientific disciplines tackle and solve scientific problems.
“The development of the program has been invigorating and different,” said Dr. Felisa Smith, PiBBs co-director. “The support from the Howard Hughes Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University to get the program going has been phenomenal. This demonstrated level of institutional commitment was essential in getting the program funded and established, and will continue to be a major evaluation criteria of Phase II. UNM is one of eight universities selected to move into Phase II, which will help to involve and provide more support to students seeking an interdisciplinary Ph.D.”
Phase II funding will enable eight new students to be selected for the program; six will be funded by NIH and two by UNM. It will also provide for dedicated program space on the first floor of the new Biology building including a furnished office and conference rooms, a full-time program coordinator, dedicated release time for the director and co-director, one dedicated TA line, and a small amount of annual operating funds to cover educational and programmatic expenses.
“Three students in Phase I are defending their dissertations this semester,” added Brown. “All three have already been accepted to really prestigious and excellent post-doc institutions. We’re doing the right thing. The program is innovative and challenges the next steps in biological integration across the country.”
“We have great faculty participating in the program,” said Smith. “The students who have been involved in PiBBS so far have been incredibly productive. They are the movers and shakers. They are students who are thinking outside the box.”
Media Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821; e-mail: scarr@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at April 29, 2009 09:59 AM