A computational biology center will extend modeling and computation to real biological processes especially in the area of molecular biophysics, molecular genetics, developmental control and evolution. The three primary research projects concentrate on protein folding and simulation, modeling Dictyostelium development and hybridization and folding of nucleic acids. Current methodologies of MonteCarlo, stochastic automata and dynamic programming will be used. New simulation concepts will lead to a better understanding of the complicated issues involved in making quantitatively valid predictions for biological systems. This broadly based facility will advance the field of computational biology, which is becoming increasingly necessary for biologists to keep track of and make sense of data of ever increasing complexity.
