The Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) at the Weill Cornell Graduate School (WCGS) is built on a decades-long history of biophysics research and training at the two institutions comprising WCGS - Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) located across the street from each other. MBTP will bring together biophysics trainees from two WCGS graduate bi-institutional programs: the Biochemistry & Structural Biology (BSB) program, part of the umbrella Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology (BCMB) program and the Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology (PBSB) program. Union of the biophysics trainees in these two programs is a natural fit given that biophysics is inherently multidisciplinary ? bringing together biology, chemistry, physics, computational biology, and mathematics. MBTP will provide: 1) outstanding learning and mentoring for predoctoral trainees in molecular biophysics; 2) world-class research opportunities; 3) a diverse and interactive community of students and faculty to foster scientific exchange and collaboration; 4) strong foundation in performing rigorous and reproducible scientific research and 5) knowledge of and exposure to various career paths for successful transition into the biomedical research workforce. The formation of the MBTP program is the latest in a nearly three-decade maturation of synergistic connections between WCM and MSKCC.
The Molecular Biophysics Training Program is designed to yield a cohort of new PhDs with the skills to apply quantitative approaches rooted in physics to biomedical problems. The program will draw students from bi- institutional graduate programs shared between Weill Cornell Medicine and Sloan Kettering Institute. It will generate scientifically rigorous, thematically organized, socially cohesive and broadly inclusive educational and training environments to prepare students for diverse careers in academic and non-academic fields following timely completion of their doctoral degrees.
