Program Goal. The goal of the training program is to prepare highly qualified students for research careers in cellular and molecular biology. The program offers its trainees a large and diverse group of faculty research mentors (80) with projects in a number of cutting edge areas. It is organized to provide students with the collegiality and support of a departmental environment but also the flexibility to move easily across department lines and to choose research mentors from among all program faculty. Trainee research is supported by the outstanding facilities available at the University of Illinois. Students. The training program has proved to be an extremely valuable recruiting tool in attracting a highly qualified and geographically diverse group of students. We have significantly improved the representation of minority students in the program and added a large new pool of students through a new department, Cell and Structural Biology. Faculty. We have maintained strength in the areas in which we have been strong traditionally and increased our strength in cell biology. An outstanding group of new faculty have been added to the program since the last renewal and we project continued faculty growth in cell and molecular biology. Program Design. The program would provide three years of support for 27 students. The program has functioned to allow students full access to all the relevant faculty and facilities of the institution while providing them with the supportive atmosphere of relatively small departments. The program sets certain course requirements for all its students. It also mandates that all its students carry out research rotations and requires that at least one rotation be outside the major department. Students also organize and run an annual symposium and a monthly seminar series. Facilities. There has been a dramatic increase in the research space devoid to cell and molecular biology at UIUC. The Chemistry-Life Sciences Building (to be occupied in 1996) will provide new space to many more. We offer our trainees world class research support facilities in the Biotechnology Center (oligonucleotide and peptide synthesis, nucleotide and protein sequencing, amino acid analysis, production of hybridomas, polyclonal antibodies and transgenic animals, flow cytometry, fermentation and electron microscopy facilities), Chemical Sciences Laboratories (NMR, ESR, mass spectrometry, etc.), imaging (Beckman Institute), and computing (NCSA, SOLS network) facilities.
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