The Center for Mathematical Biology fosters the exchange of ideas and the development of research collaborations involving mathematical models and quantitative approaches to the life sciences.
The scientific study of living things is increasingly quantitative, exposing new opportunities for innovative research and interdisciplinary collaboration. This center draws on Penn State's considerable strengths in an array of disciplines—with a common theme of using mathematical, statistical, and computational tools to provide insight and understanding to biological observations and data analysis.
Members are drawn from a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise from across departments and colleges. Our members employ observational, laboratory, mathematical, statistical, and computational approaches to address a broad range of biological and medical questions.
We work at the interface between the observation of living systems and the development of appropriate quantitative methods. Mathematical models can be descriptive, but ultimately should be predictive. Our ultimate goal is to integrate observation and modeling, specifically in areas including cancer, cellular biology, ecology, epidemiology, and neuroscience.