NSF-Simons Center at Harvard

PROGRAMMATIC GOALS

The NSF-Simons Center for Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems at Harvard has three programmatic aims: (i) advance our knowledge of complex biological systems using mathematical & computational tools; (ii) develop new mathematics & statistics which describe biological processes; and (iii) train a new generation of researchers in mathematical & computational biology. Just as physics has been intricately allied with mathematics for centuries, we believe that biology will be similarly allied with mathematics going forward. The Center aims to marry these disciplines by training graduate students and postdocs who are experts in mathematics and computation to effectively use their skills to provide a layered understanding of biological complexity. We also host visitors and hold workshops to foster linkages between mathematicians and biologists who embrace the natural complementarity of these disciplines.

SCIENTIFIC GOALS

The scientific goals of the Center are also three-fold: (i) reveal how molecular networks within individual cells orchestrate developmental decisions, (ii) discover how proteins and cells self-assemble and self-organize to produce the components of living things, and (iii) understand how biological systems adapt within and beyond the lifespan of individual organisms. We extract general principles which span a broad range of timescales (from milliseconds to millions of years) and length scales (from microns to hundreds of centimeters). To do so, we study a range of experimental systems: viruses, single-celled organisms, tissues, organoids, and multi-celled animals. We build predictive, causal mathematical models that account for biological decision-making, self-organization and adaptation, linking development and evolution.

CENTER DIRECTOR

Andrew MURRAY

Director, NSF-Simons Center for Mathematical & Statistical Analysis of Biological Systems

Herchel Smith Professor of Molecular Genetics

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bridget QUEENAN

Executive Director of Research, Quantitative Biology

CENTER MANAGEMENT TEAM

	Cassandra EXTAVOUR Professor of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology and of Molecular & Cellular Biology
	L. MAHADEVAN Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, and of Physics; Faculty Dean of Mather House of Harvard College
	Johan PAULSSON Professor of Systems Biology
	Sharad RAMANATHAN Llura & Gordon Gund Professor of Neurosciences and of Molecular & Cellular Biology Professor of Applied Physics and Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology

AFFILIATED FACULTY

	Ariel AMIR Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Applied Physics
	Paola ARLOTTA Professor of Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology
	Michael DESAI Professor of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
	Frank DOYLE John A. & Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering & Applied Sciences
	Victoria D'SOUZA Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology
	Sean EDDY Elmore C. Patterson Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology and of Applied Mathematics
	Ethan GARNER John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Natural Sciences
	Doeke HEKSTRA Assistant Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology Assistant Professor of Applied Physics
	Samuel KOU Professor of Statistics; Associate of Center of Mathematical Sciences & Applications; Professor in the Department of Biostatistics
	Na LI Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics
	Richard LOSICK Maria Moors Cabot Professor of Biology Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor
	Vinothan MANOHARAN Wagner Family Professor of Chemical Engineering and Professor of Physics
	Xiao-Li MENG Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Whipple V. N. Jones Professor of Statistics
	Daniel NEEDLEMAN Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology
	Christopher RYCROFT Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics
	David SCADDEN Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor of Medicine; Professor of Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology Chair of the Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology

Made possible by the generous support of

NSF