Welcome
Initial Goals for Physical BioSciences (PBS) at WSU.
The overall goal of this proposal is to start a program in physical biosciences to meet the needs of a growing group of students and researchers involved in interdisciplinary research in the physical sciences. This program will graduate students with broad interdisciplinary skills capable of working in, and starting, new small businesses related to the physical biosciences as well as establish rigorous interdisciplinary academic programs.
Our specific objectives are to:
- Create a formal Program of Physical Biosciences (PBS) that would provide an interdisciplinary environment for research in the biological sciences.
- Create a degree program that would award a Ph.D. in Physical Biosciences.
- Focus areas would include:
- Mathematical biology
- Biophysics
- Computational Biochemistry
- Chemical biology
- Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
- Create interdisciplinary courses that cross the boundaries of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biophysics, engineering, computer science and biology. These courses would be available to advanced undergraduates and graduates students.
Significance-
It is well established that major revolutions in science occur when new researchers enter an established field of research from a different branch of science. This brings a new prospective, and fosters new paradigms. Fostering interdisciplinary research in the biological sciences as WSU through PBS will catalyze new ways of thinking of problems in the biosciences. This in turn will lead to new techniques, and intellectual property that will stimulate the economy of Washington State.One major trend that can be seen at major research universities, such as WSU, is that students tend to be conservative in their choices of classes in their freshman and sophomore years. Since many physical sciences courses are perceived to be more difficult, students often chose a more qualitative path. By the time the students realize that their interests lie in the physical sciences they have already taken a number of courses that makes it difficult for them to complete an undergraduate program in the physical sciences. Given the need for quantitative skills in biosciences, this creates a deficiency in qualified students for graduate programs in the biosciences. This deficiency is often filled by foreign nationals who are tracked early into quantitative sciences. While this helps to fill the gap in students trained in the physical biosciences it is not a complete solution since a number of these students do not remain in the US to fill the need for senior people in high tech industries. The program in physical bioscience will actively recruit students trained in the life sciences, and use interdisciplinary course work to build their quantitative skills. Bringing life science majors back to physical sciences will enhance the graduate student pool, and will increase the number of highly trained graduates in the physical biosciences.
Another pool of potential students are students trained in math, engineering and physics that have very little training in biological science, computer sciences and chemistry. When these students are recruited to physics and mathematics’ graduate programs the rigorous coursework required for a Ph. D. often leaves no time for course work outside of their discipline. The physicals bioscience program will offer courses that allow students to focus on physics, mathematics and engineering while also having access to interdisciplinary courses in the biological sciences. Presently students that want this type of interdisciplinary training must go to programs outside of Washington State, and are less likely to return the Washington to take jobs in high tech industries. Another path is to complete a postdoctoral fellowship after formal training. Establishing the program in physical sciences will integrate bioscience early in the program, and increase the efficiency with which students can be trained to pursue interdisciplinary projects.
Another significant effect of creating an interdisciplinary PBS program is that it will increase the integration of Departments and Colleges across the University to increase collaboration and research funding opportunities. A growing number of requests for application from the major federal funding sources emphasize interdisciplinary research. Having a formal program will allow the members of the program to easily apply for these funds without having to create new documents establishing our collaborations. The integrated training environment would make obtaining funds for pre- and postdoctoral training more readily available. Soon after the program is established we will apply for a training grant to support interdisciplinary research.
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