In this final month of 2007, it is with great pride and a sense of accomplishment that we can look back over the first five years of the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity (CSBC). The Center (www.vcu.edu/csbc/) was created in a crucible of activity that accompanied formation of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Life Sciences, with its vision of the future of 21st-century life science invoking the principles of systems biology and biological complexity in the forefront of an exciting new interdisciplinary academic focus. Five years ago, it was not without a certain trepidation that the Center embarked on its innovative integrative and purposefully non-reductive directive. At that time, the Center was part of a small vanguard of new programs developing worldwide with similar visions, but there was no certainty that these programs would gain traction on the slippery slopes of traditional academic research, and public and private funding programs. After these first tentative years, we now feel vindicated in the face of a growing consensus of leaders in biological and biomedical research that integrative systems approaches represent the next great step for these scientific endeavors. Around the world, new programs have been established focusing on integrative systems biology, mathematical and computational biology, and biological complexity. Funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health with its Roadmap initiative, have also validated these approaches. Thus, it is with great satisfaction that we reflect on the early challenges we faced gaining recognition and acceptance from our peers for our focus on systems biology and the principles of complexity in our biological and biomedical research.
The past five years has seen a whirlwind of creation, growth, accomplishments, and recognition in the Center. We have attempted to lay the foundations for future success in our mission of building an academic community centered on integrative discovery science, systems biology, and the principles of complexity to address the challenges of the life sciences revolution of the 21st century. What the future holds for the CSBC will be derived to a great extent from the foundations we have laid over the past formative five years. Some elements of our activities are outlined below.
As of 2007, we have grown to well over 100 fellows, including 23 Senior Fellows, 89 Fellows, 11 External Fellows, and almost a dozen permanent staff. Twenty new faculties have been recruited to VCU to be CSBC fellows to participate in our forward-looking mission. Fellows are housed in seven schools and colleges at VCU, including the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Engineering and Business, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and VCU Life Sciences. Our external fellows include scientists from the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Research of Center fellows is interdisciplinary, integrative, and forward-looking. Faculty employ the omics technologies, mathematical biology, quantitative and