This proposal requests funding for predoctoral training in the Bioinformatics Program at the University of Michigan. This is a multidisciplinary graduate training program in bioinformatics and computational molecular biology drawing faculty from the Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Literature Science and Arts, Public Health, Pharmacy, and Information. Computational bioscience has emerged as a new multidisciplinary field contributing to all aspects of biology and medicine and there is an urgent national need for scientists skilled in computational biology and bioinformatics. The mission of the Bioinformatics Program is doctoral education in preparation for a career as an independent investigator. Trainees in the program are exposed to a wide range of research and receive training above and beyond the standard graduate programs through participation in dedicated weekly journal clubs, a biweekly seminar series, a monthly student presentation series, lectures, mini-courses, symposia and an annual retreat that includes all trainees and their advisers. Formal advising begins with orientation in advance of registration and continues intensively throughout the training experience. The University of Michigan is an internationally recognized center for graduate education with the strength and breadth necessary to support truly multidisciplinary training. The Bioinformatics Program benefits from and in turn enhances numerous other training programs on campus through synergistic course offerings, seminars and mini-courses. The institution has a broad commitment to bioinformatics strengthened by the establishment in 2000 of a Program in Bioinformatics with degree granting authority at the masters and doctoral levels. This commitment is reinforced by recent and continuing faculty recruitment across the campus and the construction of dedicated space for the program. The establishment of an NIH multidisciplinary Bioinformatics Training Program will enhance faculty productivity and facilitate progress toward attaining the goals of the National Institutes of Health.
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