The goal of Quantitative Biology (qBio) is to discover the organizational principles of living systems. These organizational principles take the form of mathematical models that can be used to predict biological phenomena. A defining pillar of the qBio approach is tight integration of experiment and theory; biological complexity necessitates empirical testing and subsequent improvement of predictive theory. The goal of the qBio PhD specialization is to train students to use quantitative methods to explore the connection between molecular interactions at the cell level and the resulting behavior at the physiological level.

To make biology quantitative and predictive, it is necessary to draw upon a multitude of approaches from the physical sciences and engineering. These include theoretical concepts developed from studies in statistical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics, and experimental methods such as microfluidics and advanced imaging. Therefore the goal of the qBio graduate program is to provide the students with a mastery of both the theoretical knowledge and experimental skills, and guide them to employ both approaches to address fundamental biological problems during their thesis research.

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