Biomathematics will from autumn 2008 be part of the BSc programme Mathematical Sciences. This programme is meant for Scandinavian speaking students.

Field of study: Biomodelling

In addition to a general introduction to mathematics, statistics and some biological and medical subjects, we offer our students insight into models used in population biology. We emphasize mathematical models that describe the population dynamics where coincidences interact with more predictable changes (stochastic models). Such models play an important part both in the understanding of the population biology (within ecology and population genetics) and in the practical management of stocks, for instance decisions about which species should be regarded as vulnerable or threatened, or how much we in a given year should harvest from populations that fluctuate over time (e.g. financially important species such as cod, herring and elk).

• How large should a population be in order to be characterized as viable?
• How do we find the size of an animal population when we only manage to observe some of the individuals?
• How can populations such as elk, cod, salmon or grouse be harvested to achieve the highest possible profit at the same time as the population suffers the least possible damage?
• What are the potential environmental consequences of introducing genetically modified organisms?
• What genetic influence do farmed salmon escapees have on the wild salmon stocks?
• How fast will introduced species (e.g. the red king crab) spread?

This course qualifies for admission to the Master’s degree programme in Statistics.

Field of Study: Medical Statistics

Over the past 10—20 years, the use of calculus of probability and statistics has been adopted in full within medical research. Medical statistics is a rapidly growing field. Statistics in medical research environments and the pharmaceutical industry face interesting challenges when working with problems of practical utility value. We need knowledge about statistics to be able to solve tasks within several areas:

Clinical testing of new treatment methods:

• How many patients do we need to test a new treatment method?
• How is such testing to be conducted?
• How do we analyze the results?
• What are the prognosis of a patient that receives a certain treatment when considering factors we know are of consequence, such as age, gender, and smoking habits?

Analysis of the spread and progress of diseases in the population, also called epidemiology:

• The connection between the risk of disease and e.g. work environment and diet.

Analysis of the results from modern examination methods, such as

• ultrasound
• magnetic resonance (MR)
• computer tomography (CT)

Researchers in medical statistics cooperate closely with the medical research environment on problems related to medical research.

This course qualifies for admission to the Master’s degree programme in Statistics.

Field of Study: Theoretical Biology

Similar to the ordinary Bachelor’s degree programme in biology, this course provides opportunities to continue the studies with a Master’s degree programme in biology. This course differs from the ordinary Bachelor’s programme in biology by including more compulsory courses in mathematics and statistics.

Students who choose this specialization are therefore far better qualified for solving problems within analysis of collected data which they will face in connection with a Master’s degree programme in biology and in future employment. The mathematical background provided through this study is to a large extent necessary in order to understand major parts of newer theories in ecology, evolution theory, genetics, and molecular biology. This course is therefore ideal for students who wish to specialize within these fields.