Program Description

Truman's Mathematical Biology Program trains students to operate at the intersection of the mathematical and life sciences. It is the only program for undergraduates in the state of Missouri and it is nationally recognized for the quality of its students and programming. Currently, the program uses research experiences to teach students how to take mathematical approaches to biological question, and why biological questions are an important source of questions for modern mathematics. Support from the National Science Foundation allows the program to run its nationally renown "Research-focused Learning Communities in Mathematical Biology" program each year (into 2009). A description of this program is here.

In addition to that NSF supported program, the Mathematical Biology Progam's activities revolve around a seminar from which exciting activities grow. Example activities of the seminar include:

• travel support for students and faculty who want to go to conferences to present work or learn about interesting problems,
• an overnight field trip to important bioscience companies in the Saint Louis or Kansas City area,
• assistance in securing external funding for current and new research projects and ideas (e.g., support from NSF C-RUI grants).

In addition, the program is working with regional bioscience firms and research institutions into supporting this activity by providing speakers, tours of their facilities, summer research internship opportunities, and such.

Most recently, the program has expanded its service to student and the University by creating a minor degree in mathematical biology that will be offered starting in the Fall of 2008. More information about that minor can be found here. [link forthcoming]

Program Accomplishments

Students in the Mathematical Biology program have presented their work at many regional, national, and international meetings. The following is a sampling of the types of places student have gone:

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Society of Mammalogists
• Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and Mathematics, Argonne, IL
• Annual Meeting of the Botanical Society of America
• Annual meeting of the Central Plains Society of Mammalogists
• CIMMYT (The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), Mexico City, Mexico
• Annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America
• European Conference on Theoretical and Mathematical Biology Joint Mathematics Meeting
• 9th Biennial State of Missouri GIS Conference
• Annual Maize Genetics Meeting
• Regional meeting of the Mathematical Association of America
• National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
• Annual National SIGCSE Meeting
• Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology
• Annual Conference 2006 for the Society of Vector Ecologists
• Truman State University’s Annual Student Research Conference
• U.S. Regional Association of the International Association for Landscape Ecology Annual Symposium

Specifically, as of March 2007, students and mentors in the program have given talks at 11 local conferences (Truman’s Student Research Conference and departmental seminars), 7 regional conferences, 10 national conferences, and 1 international conference. Students and mentors have given poster presentations at 2 local conferences (Truman’s Student Research Conference), 10 national conferences, and 1 international conference. This total of 42 presentations (mostly by students) does not include presentations during the summer program or in Truman’s Mathematical Biology Seminar series.

All teams write up technical reports that describe their work. Some teams even get their work published in prestigious journals. Publications by students and faculty are listed on the web sites for each project. Click on the Research link (to the left) for that information.

Program Graduates

Many students who participate in the program go on to medical school or graduate school to pursue interdisciplinary interests. Below is a list of what program graduates have gone on to do:

• graduates from our mathematical biology program: 18 graduated
• number in graduate school: 11
• Northwestern University (Computer Science)
• Royal Swedish Institute of Technology (Engineering and Management in Information Systems)
• University of Missouri, Columbia (Statistics and Ecology)
• Iowa State University (Statistics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology*)
• Baylor College of Medicine (Bioinformatics)
• Truman State University (Biology)
• Case Western University (Molecular Biology and Microbiology)
• University of Kansas (Paleobotany)
• Villanova (Conservation Biology)
• Cornell (Entymology)
• number in industry: 1
• Monsanto
• number in medical school: 2
• Saint Louis University
• University of Wisconsin, Madison
• number in other professional schools: 1
• University of Tennessee Law School
• those in teacher preparation programs: 3

Program Demographics

A list of faculty who have participate in the program can be found by clicking on the People link the the menu to the left, and a list of current and past undergraduate participants can be found by clicking on the Research link. For those people who like data, here is some demographic information about those groups.