Math and biomedical engineering professor Qing Nie and biological chemistry professor Xing Dai have been awarded $2 million by the National Science Foundation to study epithelial tissue development and regulation using mathematical models and systems biology experimental methods. “This award reflects the strong interdisciplinary collaboration promoted by the Center for Mathematical & Computational Biology,” said center director Nie. “We look forward to furthering our research as well as continuing to create more opportunities and training for our students.” The work will shed new light on skin research and have important implications for epithelial tissue engineering and cancer therapy.