This proposal represents a renewal proposal for the Biomolecular Science and Engineering Training Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University at Albany. The objectives of the Training Program are aimed at increased interaction among students from the four departmental disciplines of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with didactic, research, technology transfer & commercialization, and industrial components. This Training Program will provide the trainee with a keen understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of research, how it depends on fundamental underpinnings of both science and engineering, how it leads to innovative new scientific disciplines and technologies, and how commercial products are developed. Faculty from the aforementioned programs as well as the Department of Computer Science from the University at Albany (a total of 25 faculty mentors) are actively involved in research programs spanning Synthetic Biology & Biomanufacturing, Regenerative Engineering & Biotherapeutics, and Computational Biology & Bioinformatics. Biocatalysis, Bioseparations, Biomaterials, Biomolecular- Structure-Function-&-Analysis, Data Science and Entrepreneurship, and Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics therefore become common training areas to build a strong program in biomolecular science and engineering. Key aspects of the training program include: [1] a set of four courses that maximize didactic training among the key disciplines; [2] a core course entitled ?Perspectives in Biomolecular Science and Engineering? that is taken by all trainees; [3] a seminar series and research symposia that build on current campus-wide programs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and its clinical and industry partners; [4] a student-run seminar program, where trainees and other students in the area of biomolecular science and engineering present their research to their peers and training faculty; [5] training in responsible conduct of research; [6] joint supervision and multidisciplinary thesis committee membership for Ph.D. thesis work in biomolecular science and engineering; [7] an industrial internship; [8] poster presentation and participation in the annual meeting of the CBIS Industry Partners Program; [9] entrepreneurship and commercial translation training and [10] an annual retreat in biomolecular science and engineering at which trainees and others on campus interact with outside researchers in the field. An Executive Committee ensures that the trainees satisfy these requirements and an Underrepresented Minority Recruitment (URM) Committee actively engaged in, identifies and recruits URMs into the program. In addition to the six trainee slots per year proposed herein, Rensselaer will support three Institute trainees per year.
The program's mission and relevance is to provide an integrated and multidisciplinary platform to train a diverse cadre of predoctoral students broadly at the interface of biology and engineering, focusing on the quantitative linkages that define this interface and preparing the trainee for a career in biotechnology.
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