We propose a program for the support of graduate training in the field of Biophysics. The goal of the program is to provide predoctoral students with practical and intellectual training across a diverse range of research topics. These topics cover the activities and interest of a set of faculty linking the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B). These 28 trainers are joined by a shared fascination and particular expertise in structural biology, spectroscopy, physical chemistry, computational chemistry, imaging and molecular medicine. Our mission is to impart to our trainees, the intellectual and practical skills needed to engage biophysics at the highest level. In recent years, the importance of biophysics to biomedical research has grown and become increasingly dynamic. It is therefore our goal to develop in our students not only rigor, but also independence and creativity while simultaneously fostering their adventurousness. We aspire and succeed in producing graduates who push at the fronts of Biophysics to become future leaders of the field. The pool of trainees coming to the two departments of this program have backgrounds that span biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, synthetic and physical chemistry, physics and mathematics. They are supported by the training program in their first, second and/or third year of graduate school. Formal course requirements are augmented with qualifying examinations that, in part, compel a student to independently define a research project and defend it orally to a faculty panel. The training program greatly facilitates interactions between the laboratories of the two departments. These are encouraged by first year students taking three rotations in different labs in order to facilitate the selection of a dissertation supervisor. Intensive research on a dissertation topic follows lab selection. This activity is given oversight by regular formal meetings of a committee of three faculty trainers. This trainee's research efforts succeed in producing peer reviewed publications and culminate in a defense of their work. Time to graduation is typically under six years. Formal ethics training and teaching experience are also essential parts of this program. All trainees serve as teaching assistants for one year gaining supervision and guidance from the program faculty. These provisions, combined with the strong intellectual and material resources of the trainers enable the Yale Biophysics Program (YBP) to produce world class graduates. ? ? ? ?
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