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Professor Adelle Coster, the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, has been announced as the Deputy Director of Research for a new Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence. 

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems will deliver advanced mathematics to study biological processes through whole cell modelling, and will develop methods for engineering biotechnological applications. It will be administered by the University of Melbourne under the leadership of Professor Michael Stumpf. 

"I'm really looking forward to getting into the research with the team, but also being able to promote mathematical research", said Professor Adelle Coster upon learning of the announcement. 

Eleven ARC Centres of Excellence were selected in this round for funding by the Australian government, with the Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems being the only mathematics related centre among the group. The funding is $35 million and encompasses a seven-year period. 

ARC Centres of Excellence are focal points of expertise through which high-quality researchers maintain and develop Australia’s international standing in research areas of national priority.

The Centres enable significant collaborations between universities, publicly funded research organisations, other research bodies, governments, and businesses in Australia and overseas, to support outstanding research.

“Our Centres of Excellence scheme is one of our largest and most prestigious schemes, consistently delivering exciting outcomes that can only be achieved with the collaboration the Centres facilitate", said ARC Chief Executive Officer, Ms Judi Zielke PSM.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Mathematical Analysis of Cellular Systems boasts three other UNSW participants: Professor Marc Wilkins (Deputy Dean of Research for the Faculty of Science), Dr Richard Morris (School of Physics), and Professor Wenjie Zhang (School of Computer Science and Engineering).

Among the 18 participating organisations and institutions of the Centre are ANU, Monash University, the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute, ETH Zurich, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mathematics Alliance Ltd.

The Centre will produce innovation in computational and mathematical biology, and establish in silico biology alongside in vivo and in vitro biology. These models will facilitate an understanding of the complexity of life at the cellular level and enable new ways of combining diverse and heterogenous data. It will allow insights into the mechanisms underlying cellular behaviour, and to apply rational design engineering methods in order to control the dynamics of biological systems.

Dean of UNSW Science, Scientia Professor Sven Rogge, applauded today's announcement.

"This is a fantastic achievement for mathematics", said Sci. Prof Rogge. "Congratulations to Adelle as Deputy Director and the other Chief Investigators at UNSW". 

We wish Professor Coster all the very best for her role in this exciting new Centre.