MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

ABSTRACT: In this guide we discuss opportunities for undergraduate students pursuing a career at the interface of mathematics and biology since this interdisciplinary field is somewhat emerging. We identify broad sources of information including the Society of Mathematical Biology and Bioinformatics.fr. These resources list educational programs, publications, journals, and jobs. Along with the formal information these websites provide, Bioinformatics.fr links to blogs for accessible biomathematics content. To provide some examples, specific graduate programs for each of the major subcategories including bioinformatics or computational biology, systems biology, biostatistics, and quantitative biology are discussed. Apart from the subsections, these programs vary in how long they have been established and what organizations they are affiliated with. While biomathematics is an active area of research, potential employers for individuals with degrees specializing in mathematical biology outside of academia also exist and are mentioned in this guide. In addition, the general preliminary requirements for acceptance in to these graduate programs is addressed. In particular, this guide delves in to how computer science and knowledge of computer languages plays a role. This guide concludes with some general advice on how students who may be interested in any of the opportunities discussed can proceed to prepare themselves like familiarizing themselves with the most commonly used computer programs. Overall this guide serves as a resource for understanding what is required for a career in biomathematics from before applying, to graduate programs, and to potential jobs.

READER’S PROFILE: An individual who believes more in theoretical math and would advise mathematics students to pursue graduate studies and research opportunities in academia in pure math.

READER’S RESPONSE: While many areas of applied mathematics are very interesting, at the heart of math is theory. Undergraduate students studying math should consider pure math graduate studies where they can really delve in to the subject matter. Students should understand the theory and discover new concepts by going in to pure math research. Studying theoretical math would provide much more freedom by staying in academia. Students are not constrained by a particular biological system to conform to and can essentially think about whatever area that interests them. Additionally there is arguably a larger potential long-term impact since applications are based on the underlying theory.

A -- would you say that this math line of inquiry is both applied and theoretical (due to newness?)? Is that what this reader is saying?

Can you perhaps identify which theoretical areas support this newer field and these emerging applications? You might address this reader in some way.

I would use formal APA citation for this context.