Keck Computational Biology Training Program (KCB)
Cross-Training in an Integrated Training Environment
We cross train new scientists in both computational science and a specialized area of biology, to create a new generation of scientists that bring the power of both these fields to bear on important questions on the cellular and molecular basis of biological processes. Funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, this computational biology training program has supported over 30 pre- and postdoctoral fellows since its inception in 2001. This 5-year program, which will be completed at the end of 2006, has been instrumental in training the next generation of bioscientists to prepare them for careers as multi- and interdisciplinary investigators.
The importance of introducing an interdisciplinary educational component should be clear. This provides the most effective means to incorporate the best new computational techniques. Using the newest and most powerful computers requires a knowledge of parallel and vector capabilities along with a variety of other things such as visualization, networking, and programming environments. In addition to advances in hardware, new algorithms and analytic techniques are now available and this technology and the concepts it is based upon must be transferred to the computational biologists of the future.
A complete training environment requires three levels of training activity: postdoctoral, predoctoral, and undergraduate components. Postdocs can attack cutting edge applications and serve as tutors and role models for graduate students and undergraduates. Graduate students are in turn good mentors for the undergraduates and, through their required interdisciplinary coursework "import" terminology from other fields back to their home departments. Often, faculty members can prove slower than trainees in picking up on new ideas, and in this sense many of the faculty view themselves as trainees in this endeavor as well.
For information about
the Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC),
other Keck Center Training Programs,
and
the GCC Research Consortia,
please go to GCC Home
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