Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
Summary The aim of the Cell Biology (CB) training program is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained scientists through high quality research training and mentored research experiences. The program has three overarching goals. 1. Academic goals. To train a ‘complete cell biologist’ who has the skill sets to identify critical questions and design original and impactful experiments. This is achieved by providing an intellectually diverse and rigorous research environment that emphasizes the basic principles of cell organization and function. Students will be trained to be versant in scale-crossing experimental approaches used in cell biology from molecules, to cellular organization and tissue morphogenesis and will be exposed to training in an array of disciplines including molecular biology, genetics, genomics, cell imaging, biochemistry, structural biology, proteomics, bioinformatics, and computational and systems biology. Multi-scale and multi-disciplinary learning will be supported by encouraging students to collaborate, to effectively lead or integrate in teams and to share knowledge and resources. 2. Educational Goals. To foster a training environment that encourages student participation. This is achieved by equipping trainees with the technical, operational, and professional skills required for a career in biomedical research and other science-related fields. Through interactive learning, the program will foster skills to think critically and independently, and will provide a strong foundation for scientific reasoning and rigorous experimental design, analysis, and interpretation. 3. Personal Development Goals. To train responsible scientists who can productively engage and lead. This is achieved by a training program that emphasizes the importance of reproducibility and rigor in the experimental approach, and ‘lives’ a code of conduct among trainees and teachers that stresses mutual respect and values integrity and diversity. Through individually tailored and personal development studies, students will learn to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and develop presentation skills to communicate their work across disciplines and effectively address audiences of varied backgrounds. These goals will be accomplished with strong programmatic leadership and guidance, engaged faculty mentors, a strong and diverse trainee pool, a structured, yet individualized training program and evaluation plan, and an outstanding research environment with critical mass, breadth, and depth in cell biology. Ultimately, we will imbue our students with the skills, expertise, and experiences needed to successfully transition to the biomedical workforce. Trainees will be appointed to the training grant during their second and third years. Based on the number of training grant eligible (TGE) trainees in the laboratories of CB faculty mentors, we predict an average of 16 TGE students will join the CB training program every year. We are requesting a total of 16 graduate student training positions. This will allow us to select an average of 8 students every year on a competitive basis (top 50% of TGE students) to receive two years of training grant support.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).