This course is targeted at late B.Sc./M.Sc. students in biology, biomedicine, ecology, evolutionary biology or epidemiology. Students completing this course are able to efficiently communicate about biomedical problems and models with quantitative scientists in an accurate language to develop interdisciplinary collaborations. Towards this goal, students learn to convert a biological problem expressed initially in vague terms into quantitative hypotheses framed in the language of mathematics. They learn how to assemble the main biological objects of study, such as parts of cellular signalling pathway, into a coherent model structure, and to describe objects, features and their interactions with mathematical equations. They also have a basic understanding of the parameter ranges underlying the validity of model assumptions, and of how to predict the general response regimes of the model and rectify models to fit with experimental observations. Finally, students passing this course are also able to construct and solve analytically or numerically some conceptually simple models that cover a broad range of applications.

The course can be taken autonomously following the student’s own questioning, using a « you are the hero » type of interface. It includes lectures, exercises, and additional online materials.