This application requests continued support for predoctoral student training in genetics and molecular biology. Students who receive support are enrolled in the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, and interdepartmental predoctoral training program. The goal of this program is to train students to be creative, sophisticated research scientists in the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology. The emphasis of this training is the acquisition of a foundation of knowledge, the accumulation of laboratory skills, and the development of the ability to formulate experimental approaches to solving contemporary problems in the biological sciences. The Curriculum Director, Robert J. Duronio, serves as the Program Director for this NRSA award. The 75 training faculty have appointments in the School of Medicine and the Department of Biology. They participate in student training by acting as dissertation sponsors, serving on dissertation committees, teaching in Curriculum sponsored courses, inviting speakers for the Curriculum's seminar series, and serving on administrative committees such as the Admissions Committee. There are currently 71 students enrolled in the Curriculum and they are training in 35 laboratories in 9 departments on the UNC-CH campus and one laboratory at the NIH Sciences. Student research includes the generation and characterization of mouse models of human diseases, the characterization of molecular mechanisms of replication, recombination and repair, the control of gene expression, and the genetic basis of cancer. The training program requires all students to take courses in genetics and molecular biology, to attend sessions on responsible conduct of research, to attend Curriculum seminars, to act as teaching assistants for one semester, to participate and present in a student seminar series, to present a poster for the Annual Research Day, and to pass a written qualifying exam, an oral preliminary exam, and a final oral exam and written dissertation. Essentially all students publish their dissertation research in peer-reviewed journals.
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