Brandeis University
 415 South Street
 Waltham, MA 02453

Our goal is to create a new cadre of young scientists who can seamlessly exploit the power of the quantitative training common in physics and physical chemistry to the analysis of biological problems. We will create a new certificate in Quantitative Biology for students in one of the six participating graduate programs: Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, Chemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, and Physics. Trainees will be involved in state-of-the-art research projects that benefit from the highly interactive and collaborative environment at Brandeis Unviersity. Research projects deal with properties of single molecules, protein complexes, biochemistry in restructed spatial locations, networks of signal transduction and transcription, neuronal networks, biological oscillators and integrators, and cognitive processes and behavior.Trainees will employ quantitative methods of data analysis and modeling.

The educational and training program will ensure that:

1. biologists can work effectively with rigorous quantitative methods, new technologies and models,
2. physicists and chemists obtain hands-on experience with biological systems and methods, and
3. students with a variety of backgrounds learn multiple "scientific languages" so that they can communicate and work with investigators with different skill sets and training than their own.

Trainees will do laboratory rotations, and take courses that include modeling and quantitative methods. Several new courses will be developed specifically for this program. Trainees will participate in a semester-long Responsible Conduct of Research Course, invite and host outside seminar speakers, participate in journal clubs and serve as teaching assistants in their area of expertise. Trainees will carry out thesis research that involves quantitative approaches to a biological problem.