A predoctoral training program in Chemistry-Biology Interfaces (CBI) at University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) will leverage our historical strengths in interdisciplinary research and join faculty across the campus for a robust training environment. UC San Diego has historically excelled at the interface of chemistry and biology, and the renewed support from the University has ensured a strong and vibrant program in the future. Many of the training faculty in this program are new to the University (within the past 10 years), and the intercampus bonds established in this proposal represent vibrant collaborations that have recently been established. The proposal aims to train 10 students each year, with a 25% match of slots from the Graduate Dean, starting in their second year of graduate studies, and offering support for two years. The proposal establishes a special curriculum for students from one of four graduate programs: Chemistry and Biochemistry (in the Division of Natural Sciences), Engineering (Bioengineering or Nanoengineering), Biomedical Sciences (including the MSTP students), and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Ocean Biosciences Program). These students will work in faculty laboratories in Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bio- and Nanoengineering, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Cancer Center. The respective deans/directors from each of these divisions/centers have offered significant institutional support, including the topping off of tuition/fees and stipends, providing additional trainee slots in the form of fellowships, and assisting administrative and organizational costs associated with this program. The curriculum we have put together offers a training and personal/professional growth experience that will be unique to this program. This includes required coursework in Chemical Biology, Bioorganic Chemistry, and Scientific Ethics; a weekly CBI Seminar Series that invite world-class scientists; a CBI Workshop that focuses on research, personal, and professional growth; an annual career day; an annual symposium of research accomplishments; and regular interaction/feedback from the world-class faculty in our CBI faculty. The pool of students qualified for this training program at UC San Diego is excellent - 83% of graduate students in the trainers' labs within the past 10 years (out of 326) would have been eligible for participation in this training program. Given the strengths of the campus in interdisciplinary and collaborative research and the outstanding pool of qualified trainees, we believe that CBI at UC San Diego offers an excellent and unique training opportunity.
With historical strengths of research at the interface of chemistry and biology, University of California, San Diego has witnessed vigorous faculty interest and administrative support at the interface of Chemistry and Biology. Students trained in the interdisciplinary field of the life sciences are critical to the future of biomedical and biotechnology research in the United States. Situated in La Jolla, CA, UC San Diego has attained a world- class reputation in chemical biology. It also serves as a central hub for the biomedical research institutions and biotechnology companies that surround the campus. We have created a unique and vibrant research training program that offers next generation researchers involved in CBI at UC San Diego an opportunity to become leaders at the interface of chemistry and biology.
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