The doctoral training program in the Dynamic Aspects of Chemical Biology at the University of Kansas (KU) aims to educate doctoral graduates across the chemistry biology interface. Students in the chemical sciences will develop a working knowledge biological information and skills. The converse will also be true: students in the biological sciences will graduate with a command of chemistry. This training program takes advantage of a local tradition of over 50 years of close and effective collaboration among scientists at the interface of chemistry, biology, and the pharmaceutical sciences. Participating faculty from the Departments of Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular Biosciences and Pharmaceutical Chemistry are connected by a common theme of probing biological systems with small molecules. At the heart of this training program is the proposed establishment of an integrated academic curriculum and seminar series that will serve the broader Chemical Biology community at KU. In order to meet this goal, our competitive renewal application proposes (1) a revised curriculum including two new courses in chemical biology required by trainees and available to the broader community at KU; (2) a new Graduate Certificate in Chemical Biology available to all graduate students in the affiliated departments; (3) a vibrant seminar series that spans all four departments and provides instruction on different careers in chemical biology; (4) a collaborative rotation that provides participating trainees with the background for attaining a working knowledge of the key concepts and methods of the training goal; and (5) continued training in the responsible conduct of research. Trainees will reap the benefits of collaborative exposure to modern experimental techniques and theories in disciplines across the chemical biology interface and will be fully prepared to meet the challenges of contemporary chemical biology.
At the heart of this proposal is the establishment of an integrated training program in the dynamic aspects of chemical biology. Integrated approaches that foster collaboration across scientific disciplines are paramount to gaining a broader understanding at the chemical biology interface with the ultimate goal of improving human health. Training and student projects span a wide array of disease states and health issues, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, pathogenic microbes and antimicrobials/antibiotics, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, and addiction, to name only a few.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 120 publications
