This proposal is recommended for funding. The proposal was rated as Highly Recommended (FUND) by the panel and the program director agrees with the panel's judgment.
Specific comments about the proposal in relation to the review criteria are outlined below.
Intellectual Merit
The fields of bioengineering and bioinformatics are being redefined through technological advances, but it is clear that the most critical work will take place at the interface between classical disciplines. It is therefore essential to attract new people to the field who work well in the gray areas and who can learn to adapt easily to the different languages of molecular biology, computational and mathematical sciences, and engineering.
The VCU team has developed an integrated curriculum to provide exposure and experiences in both fields of bioinformatics and bioengineering. This Institute fits into the overall goals of VCU. They have developed a new five year Master's in bioinformatics, with three tracks: computational and engineering, genomics and biology, and quantitative and statistical. Newly created School of Engineering has a strong focus in Bioengineering with connection to MCV Hospitals of VCU Health Systems. VCU Life Sciences creates an umbrella over these entities to enhance the integration of the two fields.
Broader Impact
In order to take rising juniors with no necessary laboratory experience and evoke within them the sense that they are active and valuable members of a scientific project, the Institute will lead them through a series of highly integrated intensive research simulations, inspired by actual problems from each of their host laboratories. Core skill bases such as computational and mathematical methods will serve to integrate, across disciplines and research areas, the analytical and methodological skills of the Institute participants. While the first summer will provide students with a view of bioengineering and bioinformatics that is focused on the problems addressed by the laboratories of the institute, the second summer will offer a broader look at the fields.
I recommend funding of the proposal for a total of $660,602 for four years.
