The University of Rochester is distinguishing itself as an internationally recognized center for excellence in research and training in RNA, DNA and protein biochemistry. This recognition has been achieved in part by the successes of this training grant program, which is approaching its 10th year of funding. The objective of our Predoctoral Training Program in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Biology (www.urmc.rochester.edu/biochemistry-biophysics/education/cellular-biochemical-molecular-sciences/) is to provide contemporary training to the next generation of talented investigators, such that our graduates are poised to assume significant leadership positions in academia, government and industry. Our 38 faculty mentors come from a total of 12 different departments within the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering (CASE). This highly dynamic and focused group of researchers with common interests and shared research goals provides a cohesive program with superb opportunities for interactions between different laboratories. We will maintain successful T32 initiatives: 1) provide one year of financial support for 7 students (an increase of 1) performing interdisciplinary research; 2) promote direct interactions between students and visiting seminar speakers; 3) enhance training in critical thinking in research; 4) provide opportunities for off-sie student travel to attend meetings, take courses, and work in outside laboratories; 5) counsel female and minority students to achieve career goals; 6) foster interactions among investigators and students in the areas of RNA, DNA and protein biochemistry through course requirements and a T32-sponsored yearly retreat; and 7) augment effective student recruiting through training-grant educational benefits. The learning environment will be further enriched with workshops to support trainee career development and training in the responsible conduct of research. The T32 Program is governed by a Steering Committee comprised of the Program Director, the co-Director, six Program Faculty Mentors, and two former T32 trainees. In 2008, Dr. Maquat, P.I. of this T32, founded the Center for RNA Biology at the University, which she proposed as a new initiative of the Medical Center's 2007-2012 strategic plan to focus on increasing innovation, collaboration and the ability to convert new basic science discoveries into novel therapies. Sixteen of the twenty faculty appointed in the Center for RNA Biology are faculty mentors within our T32 training program. As part of the Medical Center's current research strategic plan, the Center for RNA Biology has been identified as an Individual Research Program of Excellence, giving it priority for special allocation of resources, as well as concentrated efforts for faculty recruitment, all of which will increase the opportunities for graduate training. Within this expanding infrastructure, our T32 continues to promote interactions among labs, flexibility in the choice of research mentors, and improved graduate recruiting.
Research funded by this T32 pertains to cellular, biochemical and molecular biology, with a focus on the structure and function of DNA, RNA and proteins. In view of the recent appreciation that most of genomic DNA is transcribed into protein-bound RNAs, and considering the numerous complicated ways by which non-coding RNAs and their associated proteins contribute to the regulation of gene expression, research supported by this T32 will lend important insight into the mechanisms of cellular maintenance, growth and differentiation.
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