NIMBioS News
 Bi-Monthly News from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
January-February 2014, Vol 6 Issue 1
IMMEDIATE DEADLINES
Application Deadline: Feb. 10

Application Deadline: Feb. 14


Application Deadline: Feb. 28

Report Your Results

The results produced from NIMBioS research activities are important in measuring our success. Click the button below for an online form to report publications and/or other products that have resulted from your NIMBioS activities. Click here for specific language to use in acknowledging NIMBioS in your work.
 


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Support Available for Activities at NIMBioS
NIMBioSMarch 1 is the deadline for submitting proposals for new scientific and educational activities at NIMBioS. All areas of research at the interface of biology and mathematics will be considered, but we are especially interested in activities that expand beyond the areas of research support to date. Potential organizers of activities in areas of molecular biology, cell biology, network biology, immunology and systems biology, are particularly encouraged to submit requests for support of Working Groups or Investigative Workshops. March 1 is also the deadline for Sabbatical Fellowships. The application deadline for Postdoctoral Fellowships is September 1. We also support short-term visits with deadlines of March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1. We now also have a new category and application process for "Self-supported Visitors."

Featured Science: Coping With the Cold

Researchers have found new clues to how plants evolved to withstand wintry weather. In a study, which appeared in the journal Nature, researchers constructed an evolutionary tree of more than 32,000 species of flowering plants - the largest time-scaled evolutionary tree to date. Combining their evolutionary tree with freezing exposure records and leaf and stem data for thousands of species, the researchers were able to reconstruct how plants evolved to cope with cold as they spread across the globe. NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow Jeremy Beaulieu and NIMBioS senior personnel member Brian O'Meara were among the study's co-authors. Click to read more.


The tree, data and source code are freely available online in the Dryad digital repository at http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63q27 and in the TRY plant trait database at http://www.try-db.org. You can also explore the tree at http://www.onezoom.org/vascularplants_tank2013nature.htm

 

Citation: Zanne, A., et al. 2013. Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments. Nature. [Online] 
On Camera: New Models in the Tree of Life
In this video, NIMBioS postdoctoral fellow Jeremy Beaulieu explains his research in new methods for building phylogenies. Beaulieu is developing a new set of ancestral state reconstruction methods that make more realistic assumptions about how characters evolve across very large phylogenies. These new methods contribute to a broader understanding of how organisms have evolved and how they've diversified. Beaulieu's research was recently featured in a study in Nature. You can read more about Dr. Beaulieu's research here, which includes a link to his seminar on the topic.
Education Spotlight: Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (SRE)
Looking for a fun and challenging research experience this summer? The application deadline is next week for NIMBioS' Summer Research Experiences for undergraduates and teachers. The program runs from June 9 - August 1, 2014. Participants will live on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus and work in collaborative teams on a variety of biological research projects using mathematical methods. Application deadline: Friday, February 14. For more information, including full details on this year's projects and the online application, click here.
Upcoming Research and Training Opportunities at NIMBioS
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Modeling Leptosiprosis, to be held June 3-5, 2014, at NIMBioS. This workshop will bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experts to explore the state of knowledge of leptospirosis transmission in animal and human populations and the capabilities and limitations of existing techniques for explaining currently available empirical data. Application deadline: February 10, 2014. For more information and how to apply, click here. 
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS Tutorial: Algebraic and Discrete Biological Models for Undergraduate Courses, to be held June 18-20, 2014, at NIMBioS. This tutorial will bring together faculty from mathematics and biology to learn algebraic and discrete approaches to problems from modern biology including gene regulation, gene identification, RNA folding, phylogenetics, and metabolic pathway analysis. Application deadline: February. 28, 2014. For more information and how to apply, click here. 
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS-MBI-CAMBAM Summer Graduate Program, to be held July 7-18, 2014, at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute on the campus of The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. The summer school program will focus on the theory, mathematical modeling and experimental study of biological rhythms. Application deadline: February, 28, 2014. For more information about the program and how to apply, click here.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS
September 1 is the next deadline for submitting requests for postdoctoral support. All areas of research at the interface of biology and mathematics will be considered. We are especially interested in activities expanding beyond the research supported to date, including research in areas of molecular biology, cell biology, network biology, immunology and systems biology. If you miss the Setpember 1 deadline, your next chance to request postdoctoral support from NIMBioS is December 11. To apply, click here.
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The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) brings together researchers from around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life sciences. NIMBioS is funded by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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NIMBioS is located at the Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
1122 Volunteer Blvd, Suite 106, Knoxville, TN 37996-3410
Phone: +1 865 974 9334
Fax: +1 865 974 9300
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