Today at Brown

Thirteen years ago, Brown became one of the first universities in the country to establish an undergraduate concentration in computational biology. Its goal was to teach students how to employ mathematical, computational, and statistical sciences in biological research. Yet while the University embraced the undergraduate program and later established a research hub for it, supporters believed Brown needed to add a graduate core. Establishing a Ph.D. program “was a central mission” in computational biology studies, says Sorin Istrail, the Julie Nguyen Brown Professor of Computational and Mathematical Sciences and director of the Center for Computational Molecular Biology.

Brown has that piece now. Beginning in fall 2010, the University will accept doctoral candidates in computational molecular biology (CMB). The Ph.D. program was approved by the Brown Corporation’s Board of Fellows last May. It will train students in computational, mathematical, and statistical sciences while providing a foundation in molecular biology.

The graduate CMB program initially will draw from four disciplines at the University – applied mathematics, computer science, ecology and evolutionary biology, and biology. The center expects to take up to four students annually during the program’s initial phase, projected to be three years, Istrail says. Funds to support the students will be provided by the center, the Graduate School, and research grants obtained by faculty. Enrollment is expected to increase in subsequent years, Istrail adds.

Prof. Sorin Istrail Istrail says the CMB doctoral initiative will focus on genomics. “It looked natural for this to be one of the leading things,” Istrail says. “You need to be at the center of innovation, because genomics is changing everything.” The field for years revolved around the quest to map the human genome, as well as the genetic blueprint of other organisms. Since the human genome was mapped in 2003, however, genomics has entered a new phase that some call the “post-genome-sequence era” in which scientists seek to reveal the inner workings of organisms, such as gene expression, how proteins act (proteomics), and other biological processes.

More and more, such studies involve great masses of data. The challenge is to convert this mountain of data into knowledge that can improve life for all humans – whether by designing drugs to treat specific conditions or by providing a greater understanding of the evolutionary paths of species. Computational biology seeks to organize the data toward this end.

Administrators and faculty say Brown’s embrace of a CMB doctoral degree will build the institution’s ability to attract the most competitive students, procure grant research funding, and recruit faculty. Degree holders will be well equipped to find jobs in academia, industry, and government, proponents add, while the graduate program also will strengthen the undergraduate computational biology curriculum.

Currently there are four faculty members directly affiliated with the Center for Computational Molecular Biology – Istrail, Charles Lawrence of applied mathematics, Ben Raphael of computer science, and Daniel Weinreich of ecology and evolutionary biology. Istrail said more faculty will be added once the graduate program is up and running.