Quantitative Biology Workshop
A workshop-style introduction to tools used in biological research. Discover how to analyze data using computational methods.
Quantitative Biology Workshop
A workshop-style introduction to tools used in biological research. Discover how to analyze data using computational methods.
Do you have an interest in biology and quantitative tools? Do you know computational methods but do not realize how they apply to biological problems? Do you know biology but do not understand how scientists really analyze complicated data? 7.QBWx: Quantitative Biology Workshop is designed to give learners exposure to the application of quantitative tools to analyze biological data at an introductory level. The Biology Department of MIT has run this workshop-style course as part of a one-week outreach program for students from other universities. With 7.QBWx, we can give more learners from around the world the chance to discover quantitative biology. We hope that this series of workshops encourages learners to explore new interests and take more biology and computational courses.
What you'll learn
- Apply quantitative methods to biological problems
- Define computational vocabulary
- Write Python, MATLAB, and R code to analyze biological data
- Examine any protein structure in PyMOL
- Analyze how to answer a scientific question through a step-by-step thought process.
Prerequisites
7.00x Introduction to Biology or similar (biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics).
Programming experience is not required. An introduction to MATLAB, Python, and R is included.
Meet your instructors
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Founding Director of the Broad Institute; Professor of Biology at MIT -
Latham Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT -
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT -
Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT -
Director of Blended and Online Initiatives; Lecturer, Department of Biology -
MITx Digital Learning Fellow, Department of Biology
Eric S. Lander
Eric S. Lander
Founding Director of the Broad Institute; Professor of Biology at MIT
Eric S. Lander is interested in every aspect of the human genome and its application to medicine. He is a Professor of Biology at MIT and Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. He is the Founding Director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Lander was one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project. He and his colleagues are using these findings to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the basis of human diseases.
Jeff Gore
Jeff Gore
Latham Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT
Jeff Gore is a Latham Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT. He completed his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Physics at MIT. Before starting his postdoctoral fellowship, he did a three-month science policy fellowship at the National Academy of Sciences studying science education at the undergraduate level with the Board on Science Education. His research group studies theoretical ecology and evolutionary systems biology.
Paul Blainey
Paul Blainey
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT
Paul Blainey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT and a core member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He earned a B.S. in chemistry and a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Washington. He earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University. He then completed postdoctoral research at Stanford University. His research group focuses on integrating new microfluidic, optical, and molecular tools for application in biology and medicine.
Ernest Fraenkel
Ernest Fraenkel
Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT
Ernest Fraenkel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT. He studied Chemistry and Physics as an undergraduate at Harvard College, obtained his Ph.D. in Structural Biology at MIT in the Department of Biology, and completed his post-doctoral work in the same field at Harvard. His research group focuses on developing computational and experimental approaches to search for new therapeutic strategies for diseases.
Mary Ellen Wiltrout
Mary Ellen Wiltrout
Director of Blended and Online Initiatives; Lecturer, Department of Biology
Mary Ellen earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Biology at MIT in 2009 and returned in 2013 to create 7.00x Introduction to Biology with Professor Eric Lander. Mary Ellen oversees the execution and evolution of MIT Department of Biology’s digital learning strategy. The group develops digital learning content for MIT students, advises evidence-based teaching practices, creates MITx courses, and studies the impact of design on learner engagement in their research. In 2016, Mary Ellen earned the MIT Infinite Mile Award. In 2019, their work received a silver award at the Reimagine Education science of learning category.
Nathaniel Schafheimer
Nathaniel Schafheimer
MITx Digital Learning Fellow, Department of Biology
Dr. Nathaniel Schafheimer was an MITx Digital Learning Fellow in the Department of Biology at MIT from 2013 to 2015. He had a central role in the development and management of the MITx courses for the Department of Biology at MIT. He previously completed his Ph.D. studying how ultraviolet light damages the proteins in the lens of the human eye in Jonathan King’s lab at MIT.