This program prepares scientists for research careers in the computational and mathematicalmodeling of medically significant biological systems through interdisciplinary training at thepredoctoral level. Noted for its well-established system of interdisciplinary graduate programsand for its tradition of collaborations across departmental boundaries the University of Arizonaprovides a highly suitable environment for such training. Fifteen training faculty withappointments in multiple departments and interdisciplinary graduate programs provide strengthin five broad areas: bioinformatics; molecular dynamics; cellular processes; physiology andpathophysiology; biostatistics and stochastic processes. Students will be drawn from multiplegraduate programs in mathematical and life sciences including the programs in AppliedMathematics and in Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology. In most cases students willreceive two years of support from this program starting in their second or third year of graduatetraining. Trainees will pursue the coursework requirements of their own graduate programs andin addition take graduate courses in mathematical modeling and in bioinformatics which aretailored to the trainees' needs and take into account their diverse scientific backgrounds. Alltrainees will take part in a weekly Quantitative Biology Colloquium that has been runningcontinuously for more than twenty years. This colloquium includes presentations by studentsfaculty and visiting speakers and promotes dialog between trainees and faculty with primarilymathematical or computational backgrounds and those with strong biological training. It willinclude components explicitly devoted to training in responsible conduct of research methodsfor enhancing reproducibility and career development including preparation for a range ofcareers in biomedical research. Trainees will carry out their doctoral research with advisorswhose research whether theoretical or experimental emphasizes application of theoreticalapproaches to biomedical problems. Trainees participating in this program will not only receiveresearch training in relevant areas but equally importantly will develop the ability tocommunicate and collaborate across traditional disciplinary boundaries and to work withresearchers with complementary expertise. Researchers with such skills are critically needed inmany areas of biomedical science in which sophisticated theoretical approaches are necessaryin order to achieve further progress.