Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

The biomedical sciences are at the stage where quantitative methods from physical sciences and engineering can make a big impact on fundamental and technological advances. At the same time, computational modeling techniques at each of these levels have generated deep insights into the biophysical principles of life as well as into tools for probing biological organization. We propose an integrated, interdisciplinary training program for undergraduates, graduates and postdoctoral fellows that brings together physical scientists and engineers with medical researchers to create an interdisciplinary effort in quantitative life science and technology that is unique in Canada. This program falls under the "health and related life sciences and technologies" area of priority for NSERC. It is grounded in the areas of biological physics, photonics, photochemistry, systems biology and neuroscience in which the University of Ottawa has invested heavily. Canada's R&D sector needs scientists and engineers with a deep understanding of current challenges and opportunities in the biomedical sciences. Therefore we will train HQP with the broad interdisciplinary skills required for addressing these challenges. Specifically, the emphasis will be placed on tools to probe, manipulate, and simulate living systems at the molecular, cellular and systems level. The trainees will benefit from the rich research environment provided by the U. Ottawa, the National Research Council, the Ottawa Health Research Institutes and Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. Their training will be enhanced by dedicated cross-disciplinary courses, summer schools and short-term research visits to institutes of our international network of collaborators. Our trainees will receive career development, professional practice, communication, risk management, and second language training. Our trainees will be able to address problems at the interfaces between 1) the physical and biomedical sciences,2) the experimental and computational sciences, and 3) different scales of biological organization (molecular, cellular and tissue). Our unique blend of expertises will position our graduates to tap into emerging possibilities in academia and in industry.