In the fall of 2006 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute renewed their support of Montana State University's Hughes Undergraduate Biology Program with a $1.6 million grant over four years to enhance the undergraduate education in the biological sciences. Through this effort, the undergraduate biology curriculum at Montana State University is being enhanced to offer students a multidisciplinary, quantitative approach to undergraduate biology. The thematic focus of the program is the quantitative analysis of complex biological systems. One of the greatest challenges of the current scientific era is to understand the organization and operation of complex biological systems, from macromolecular complexes to the human brain. No single discipline commands the perspective and depth to surmount the intrinsic challenges in elucidating the structural, organizational, and mechanistic principles of complex biological systems.

In order to achieve the goals of the program, efforts will be focused on the vertical integration of the undergraduate biological sciences program, the enhancement of student research opportunities, the enhancement and continuing development of precollege and college-level outreach programs as well as faculty development through our Master Teacher Series.

Roger Bradley, Curriculum Development