We seek to renew support for training 12 predoctoral students per year in the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) Graduate Program at UCSF. The DSCB program builds off of a foundation of cell biology, biochemistry and genetics to instill deep understanding of development and developmental disorders. As the field of developmental biology is rapidly advancing, we provide our students a dynamic, interdisciplinary education that incorporates the most recent conceptual and experimental advances. Our students acquire the concepts and skills to make groundbreaking contributions to developmental biology, as evidenced by their pioneering discoveries and successful scientific careers. DSCB is a degree-granting, cross-campus graduate program governed by an Executive Committee and run by a Director and an Associate Director. 63 faculty members in 19 basic science and clinical departments participate in the program. The faculty are leaders in their respective fields, have active research laboratories, and provide extensive mentorship to DSCB students. Interactions among laboratories and trainees are facilitated by an annual retreat, seminars, an annual student- run symposium, two weekly journal clubs, faculty research talks, joint research meetings, and shared student supervision. From 1994-2010, this training grant supported students who studied developmental biology through two broader graduate programs. In 2011, DSCB was established as an independent graduate program with its own admissions and its own curriculum. Since then, DSCB has grown dramatically both in terms of faculty (35 to 62) and students (6 to 46, increasing to 54 in Fall 2018). The student body has become increasingly diverse and of the highest caliber. Students chose from thriving thesis research laboratories and faculty dedicated to excellence in graduate education. During the last funding period, we have continued to make changes in order to further strengthen the training experience. These changes include: (1) updating of the curriculum to include greater emphasis on critical thinking, rigorous experimental design, quantitative and statistically sound interpretation, visualization and written interpretation of data. (2) more opportunities to develop, write, present, and defend proposed projects, (3) new emphasis on mentorship training, (4) more support in navigating dissertation years, (5) development of programs to help students determine and execute desired career path, (6) involvement of faculty across all activities of graduate program, (7) more robust administrative support, and (8) more fully developed training in responsible conduct in research. Success of the program is well supported by outcomes of trainees both during and following training, which are regularly measured, summarized, and transparently presented both inside and outside the community. Recognizing the success, UCSF has continued to expand its commitment to the program both financially and administratively. Renewal of this training grant will support the intellectual growth of DSCB students, ensuring that each graduate is an independent scientist who helps lead the field of developmental biology for decades to come.
The goal of predoctoral training in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology at UCSF is to provide a world-class education for the next generation of researchers in the field, equipping them to make fundamental discoveries about mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal human development. Trainees go on to have highly successful careers in academia and the biotechnology industry. Human health and society-at-large will benefit directly as our training program produces creative, highly trained scientists dedicated to creating transformative molecular and cell-based therapies for birth defects, injuries and currently intractable childhood diseases.
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