Interdisciplinary graduate training for the next generation of computational and systems biologists - Enter the text here that is the new abstract information for your application. This section must be no longer than 30 lines of text. The objective is to support a Computational Systems Biology training program (CSBTP) to train students to become leaders in biomedical research at the interface of biology, computation and engineering. The effort is centered in MIT's interdisciplinary predoctoral training program in Computational and Systems Biology (CSB), which is the primary training program at MIT for students interested in computational and systems biology and is the only program that emphasizes interdisciplinary training and research in the field. Program faculty are concentrated in the three founding departments – Biological Engineering (BE), Biology, and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) – with additional involvement of faculty from other departments. Research interests of training faculty span a wide range of CSB-related areas, including Regulatory Genomics and Proteomics, Precision Medicine and Medical Genomics, Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology, Biological Networks and Machine Learning, and Cancer Systems Biology, among others. The preceptors include two dozen established labs, as well as 10 Assistant Professors and 10 Associate Professors. Students will apply directly to the CSB Ph.D. program from their undergraduate or Master’s institution and receive multi- and inter-disciplinary training in the field of computational and systems biology. The proposal seeks funding for 12 predoctoral traineeships per year, covering the first year of the PhD to enable completion of most coursework, extended research rotations and participation in special program activities. Unique aspects of the program include: (a) unusually broad collection of research areas across science and engineering, with highly collaborative interdisciplinary faculty; (b) a unique core of interdisciplinary classroom subjects that combine biology, engineering, statistics and computation; (c) intensive advising and multi-disciplinary thesis committees; (d) an annual retreat with participation of students and faculty focusing on research, careers, and challenges to interdisciplinary research; (e) personalized professional development training. The program prepares students for academic, government or industry research in computational and systems biology or related fields. Over 90% of entering students complete the PhD, and over 90% of program alumni pursue research or research-related careers.
