Erasmus Intensive program Mathematics and Biology
Firenze, July 1-15th 2009

This graduate course is intended for biologists who want to learn more mathematics.

In all fields of Biology, scientists have now to face with a huge amount of information which cannot be interpreted without the help of mathematical models.  However, students in biology often lack basics which could help them to develop model based approaches.The aims of the IP are to make students in biology more familiar with mathematics and modelling, and learn how to translate a biological problem into a model.
 
The course is organized with lectures, practicals and conferences, including students presentations, during which participants will learn some of the mathematics that are currently used for modelling dynamic systems, stochastic processes, and statistical modelling through relevant biological examples, including microarray data analysis.

Prerequisites
The prerequisite in biology is general knowledge corresponding to a Master degree in Biology in a European University.
This course is intended for biologists who need to refresh their knowledge in mathematics. Some basic knowledge is required to fully benefit from the course:
          o calculus : function, derivatives
          o probability theory : random variable, probability distribution, conditional probabilities
          o programming : basic algorithmics (loops, conditional testing)
This kind of knowledge should normally have been acquired after a Master degree in Biology in a European University. The first 2 days of the course consist in recalling some basics concerning the above topics.

Fees
The IP is funded by the Erasmus EC program and by the university partners. For the members of the partners universities, registration fees are 150 euros and cover for teaching material and accomodations (rooms, lunches, welcoming and closing dinner). Additionally, 75% of the travel costs are paid by the IP (see the section Application form). For other students, registration fees are 800 euros and cover for teaching material and accomodations (rooms, lunches, welcoming and closing dinner).

Applications           
The course is open to everybody but priority will be given to phD students from the university partners. Each university partner will select  4 students.

Online registration and additional informations on the website
http://cms.moulon.inra.fr/mathbio/
Contact –Institutional Coordinator of the IP : Alice François alice [dot] francois [at] agroparistech [dot] fr
Or Florence local Partner Coordinator : prof. Duccio Cavalieri duccio [dot] cavalieri [at] unifi [dot] it www.duccioknights.org.