Introducing Life Science Doctoral Students in Oz to the Wizardry of Computational Modeling: Introducing Computational Thinking with CellDesigner™

A five-day, hands-on workshop was held at Monash University to introduce doctoral students in the life sciences to computational applications for research. Although three software tools were employed (CellDesigner™, MATLAB™ including the Parallel Computing Toolbox, and Nimrod), this paper reports on the use of CellDesigner in teaching computational thinking and modeling, including system dynamics and regulatory networks. Each session included a series of brief orientations to the tool, followed with illustrative, practical projects for participants to implement. From written evaluations and various forms of anecdotal evidence (e.g., oral communications, participation, project/assignment performance), we conclude CellDesigner to be a suitable tool for use in such a workshop