As a fundamental component of MITs new Computational and Systems Biology Initiative (CSBi;), a new interdisciplinary predoctoral graduate training program in computational and systems biology is proposed. Program faculty are concentrated in the three founding academic units ? Biology, Biological Engineering (BE), and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS), with additional involvement of faculty from other departments, such as Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Faculty from these departments are actively involved in research programs spanning a broad set of topics in computational and systems biology, including gene and protein networks, cell and tissue engineering, imaging and image informatics, predictive toxicology and metabolic engineering, genomics and proteomics, nanobiology and microsystems, molecular biophysics, and cancer biology. Students will apply directly to the Ph.D. program from their undergraduate or Master's institution and receive interdisciplinary training in the emerging field of computational and systems biology. Unique aspects of the program include: (a) close association with the multi- and inter-disciplinary research agenda of CSBi, (b) a unique core formed from newly developed, interdisciplinary classroom subjects that combine biology, engineering, and computation, (c) a seminar program focusing on a broad range of research both within and outside of MIT and that includes student participation, (d) an annual retreat with participation of students and faculty focusing on research, leadership, and challenges to interdisciplinary research, (e) the annual CSBi symposium, which is an exceptional conference bringing leaders in the field to MIT each year, and (f) multi-disciplinary thesis committees.
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