Achievement

An IGERT faculty workshop was conducted (Summer 2009) to outline a position paper focused on systems biology approaches in geobiology. The workshop was attended by 15 MSU IGERT faculty as well as collaborators and external board members from university, private and governmental sectors. Informal research presentations from diverse disciplinary components were organized to converge on microbial community structure and function. The outcomes of the workshop, including a draft outline of a synthesis paper in geobiology, will be used as a road-map for development of another IGERT manuscript to be submitted in 2011. Faculty attending the workshop were exposed to and discussed different approaches in systems biology, including details of specific case studies that should be included in a position paper.