1. Mathematical Biology Education

I am a biology editor of and module developer for the Biological ESTEEM Online Collection . This collection is an open suite of Excel-based modules for introductory-level mathematical and computational biology. Each module contains an Excel simulation or tool that students can use to analyze and model a biological system, as well as most or all of the following:

• Documentation explaining the system’s main biological principles and mathematical relationships, as well as notes on the computational implementation;
• Ready-to-use curricular materials to jump-start student investigative projects;
• Real-world data from the primary literature;
• Links to further readings in primary and popular literature.

Each ESTEEM module focuses on understanding and exploring the mathematics underlying a biological system, and on using that knowledge to construct more detailed models, make more detailed quantitative predictions, and test hypotheses more explicitly. Modules span a wide range of biological systems and mathematical concepts. All modules can be freely downloaded, adopted, and modified, so long as all modified versions are likewise made freely available in the same way.

I am author or co-author of the following ESTEEM modules:

• Continuous Growth Models
  
• DeFinetti 1.0
  
• Deme 2.0
  
• EvolSeq
  
• Genetic Code
  
• GeoPhyl
  
• Linkage Analysis
• Luria-Delbruck
• Michaelis-Menten Enzyme Kinetics
• Operon
• Pairwise Alignment
• SIR Model
• SplitDecomp
  

I welcome comments or questions about any of these modules. Please see the ESTEEM contribution/review page for information on field testing, reviewing, and supplementing existing ESTEEM modules, and for guidelines on contributing new modules to the collection.

The ESTEEM Collection is a project of the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium , a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting curricular innovation and early research experiences in the undergraduate curriculum.