Okinawa Integrative Biology Course

Ongoing technological advances are enabling new and increasingly precise measurements of biological systems, from single molecules to entire ecosystems. For example, sequencing a human genome, once a decade-long, multi-billion dollar enterprise, will soon be as routine as an x-ray for medical diagnosis. Likewise, information on human behavioral patterns, previously only accessible through laborious surveys, can now be collected massively in real time using the internet or mobile devices.  However, the onslaught of high-throughput, quantitative experiments has raised important new questions.  Can “big data” provide new insights into old problems? What questions are uniquely suited to large, data-driven approaches? What ideas can different fields offer each other in terms of both measurement and analysis? To address such topics, The Okinawa Integrative Biology Course will bring together a diverse range of scientists, from ecologists and evolutionary biologists to physicists and mathematicians for a two-week program in a stunning natural environment.

 

The course will consist of lectures and data-driven group projects. In addition, informal discussions between visiting scientists, student participants, and OIST staff will play a major role.

 

 

The workshop is aimed at graduate students and postdocs, although interested faculty and advanced undergraduate students are likewise welcome to apply. We are particularly interested in bringing together theoretical and experimental scientists. You can submit an application here. It is due on 28 February, 2013, and we expect announce the result of the application within a week.