Department of Computational Biology

About

Mission of Department of Computational Biology

To advance the scientific understanding of biological systems through computational tools and theoretical approaches based on the fundamental principles of physical sciences

To design new computational/mathematical models and methods for simulating complex biological processes and for extracting useful information from accumulating data

To play a leading role in launching educational programs in computational biology and bioinformatics
To provide intensive, interdisciplinary training to students of biology, biomedical science, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science, enabling them to tackle complex biological problems on a computer, including managing and integrating databases and simulating biological phenomena at different levels.

	History Computational biology was established as a research discipline at the University of Pittsburgh with the creation of the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics in March 2001. The creation of the Department of Computational Biology within the School of Medicine followed in October 2004. Built on the premise of the founding Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, the department was created to establish a home uniquely welcoming to highly interdisciplinary faculty, and to firmly establish the University of Pittsburgh in a nationally recognized leadership role in a field of tremendous growth and excitement.			What is Computational Biology?
				Computational biology may be defined as the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling, and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral and social systems (NIH working definition, July 17,2000).

Facility

The Department of Computational Biology is located in Biomedical Science Tower 3 (BST3), a 10-story advanced biomedical research facility designed to foster coordinated research among researchers from multiple disciplines who share common challenges.

Department of Computational Biology
School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
3501 Fifth Avenue
Suite 3064, Biomedical Science Tower 3 (BST3)
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: 412-648-3333
Fax: 412-648-3163