NIMBioS News
 Bi-Monthly News from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
November-December 2014, Vol 6 Issue 6
UPCOMING DEADLINES






NIMBioS Support Requests: March 1

Bringing Math to the High School Biology Classroom: A BioQuest Workshop: June 5

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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NIMBioS Bids Fond Farewell to Director Gross
NIMBioS bids a fond farewell to Dr. Gross this month, as he leaves the NIMBioS directorship and resumes his duties as Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics at UT-Knoxville. Since NIMBioS' inception in September 2008 under Gross' leadership, NIMBioS has made significant contributions at the interface of mathematics and biology. More than 4,890 visits have been made by participants to the various NIMBioS activities, including 31 Investigative Workshops and 94 Working Group meetings. NIMBioS has hosted 36 postdoctoral fellows, 13 sabbatical fellows and 237 short-term visitors. Participants have come from 789 institutions and 53 countries. Activities have led to the publication of more than 400 journal articles. In January, we welcome Colleen Jonsson as the new NIMBioS director and look forward to furthering our contributions at the interface of mathematics and biology.
Featured Science: Big Brains

Warfare not only hastened human technological progress and vast social and political changes, but may have greatly contributed to the evolutionary emergence of humans' high intelligence and ability to work together toward common goals, according to a new study from NIMBioS.

     How humans evolved high intelligence, required for complex collaborative activities, despite the various costs of having a big brain has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. While the human brain represents only about two percent of the body's weight, it uses about 20 percent of the energy consumed. Other costs of having a large brain include a need for extended parental care due to a long growth period, difficulties giving birth to larger-headed babies, and some mental illnesses associated with brain complexity. So how did the human brain evolve to become so large and complex? Read more
Education Spotlight: Summer Research Experiences for Undergrads and Teachers
Looking for a fun and challenging research experience this summer? NIMBioS is now accepting applications for its eight-week Summer Research Experiences (SRE) program for undergraduates and teachers interested in research at the interface between mathematics and biology. Projects will include mathematical modeling of canine distemper, kidney function, host-pathogen interactions, tuberculosis in mice, and invasive species movements and shipping. The program runs from June 8 - July 31, 2015, and will be held on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus. Application deadline: February 13. For more information, click here.
Upcoming Research and Training Opportunities at NIMBioS
December 11 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 December 11 deadline, your next chance to request postdoctoral support from NIMBioS is September 1. To apply, click here. Need some tips on a successful application? Click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Large-scale Modeling of Olfactory Processing, to be held March 2-4, 2015, at NIMBioS. The workshop will review the current state of the mathematical approaches and tools for modeling olfaction, identify tasks that will maximize the impact of individual projects, and establish collaborations for large-scale modeling of this system, with a focus on incorporating realistic biophysical mechanisms for learning and memory. Application deadline: December 14, 2014. For more information, click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Neurobiology of Expertise, to be held March 11-13, 2015, at NIMBioS. The workshop will bring together researchers from multiple disciplines in order to better understand the existing mathematical challenges and explore new directions in modeling genomic to behavioral signatures of performance in humans and animal models for perceptual, motor and analytical expertise domains. Application deadline: December 15, 2014. For more information, click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop: Malaria-Leishmania Co-infection, to be held May 26-28, 2015, at NIMBioS. The focus of this workshop is to identify challenges for the control of malaria-leishmaniasis co-infections in South Asia and the African continent. The workshop will also model the complexity involved in co-infection propogation in resource limited regions. Experts will present field and quantitative challenges with persistence of co-infection cases. Application deadline: February 1, 2015. For more information, click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the "Research Collaboration Workshop for Women in Mathematical Biology," to be held June 22-25, 2015, at NIMBioS. This collaborative workshop aims to help build a strong collaboration network of women working on problems in mathematical biology by facilitating the formation of new collaborative research groups and encouraging them to continue to work together after the workshop. Participants will work on projects in teams. Application deadline: March 1 2015. For more information, click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the joint NIMBioS-MBI-CAMBAM Summer Graduate Program to be held June 1-12, 2015, on the campus of McGill University in Montreal. This year's focus is "Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems." Through lecture, group projects and presentations, the summer school aims to provide a new generation of trainees with the opportunity to learn more about the basics of the field of quantitative bioscience. Application deadline: March 1 2015. For more information, click here.
Applications are now being accepted for the NIMBioS/BioQUEST Workshop: Biology by Numbers: Bringing Math to the High School Biology Classroom, to be held July 20-22, 2015, at NIMBioS. Focusing on the quantitative side of biology, the program will feature hands-on experience with inquiry activities that use real data, tools for graphing and modeling. High school teachers with a strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply. It will be led by the  BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium. Application deadline: June 5, 2015. For more information and how to apply, click here. 
March 1 is the next deadline for submitting requests for new scientific and educational activities beginning in fall/winter 2015 at NIMBioS, including Working Groups, Investigative Workshops and Sabbatical Fellowships. All areas at the interface of mathematics and biology are acceptable, but Working Groups and Investigative Workshops in areas of molecular biology, cell biology, network biology, and systems biology are particularly encouraged. Click here for details.
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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, 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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