This is an application for renewal and reorganization of a longstanding program for predoctoral training at Harvard Medical School designed to integrate across disciplinary boundaries. Over the last funding cycle, combined modernization and expansion of the four-decade old parent program (Cellular and Developmental Biology) have led us to rename our current program, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Dynamics (MCD2), to signal an increase in intellectual breadth and depth, as well as multiple programmatic innovations, that will improve the quality of the training experience offered to our students. The mission of the MCD2 program (http://cellbio.med.harvard.edu/mcdd/) is to train future leaders at the forefront of discovery that will investigate the fundamental organizing principles and dynamics of molecules, cells, and tissues. Our goal is to build versatile and independent scholars capable of advancing important scientific frontiers with rigorous and novel approaches. To accomplish this, we offer a coordinated curriculum with emphasis on transferrable skills in experimental design, quantitative analysis, and project development. In addition to four compulsory Research Skills courses, our students select a series of Quantitative Analysis and Core Content courses to complement their existing strengths and scientific vocabulary. Our program has consistently led the forefront of educational innovation within the Harvard landscape, producing novel courses and training activities, such as our new Innovation Grant Program to fuel bold yet rigorous student-initiated proposals, and our new ?Big Data? curriculum to equip trainees with the analytical skills required for discoveries that will stand the test of time. MCD2 brings together a community of deeply committed scientists and educators to deliver this innovative program, and to provide our trainees with rigorous and supportive research training mentorship. Our preceptor group spans a multi-disciplinary spectrum of expertise, ranging from molecular cell biology to organismal development and physiology. This creates an environment where students learn to think across boundaries of scale, model system, and approach. To strengthen this environment, we also organize a rich array of paracurricular activities that promote scientific communication and collaboration, and enrich the community. Each year we will select a cohort of 18 MCD2 predoctoral students from a pool of over 200 talented candidates in multiple Harvard Integrated Life Science (HILS: www.gsas.harvard.edu/hils/) graduate programs. MCD2 members will be supported by this grant during their second and/or third year of PhD training, after Dissertation Advisor and research focus have been selected. As our trainees progress to degree completion, we also offer an assortment of professional development activities, workshops, and resources to prepare them for success at the next stage of their careers. While the majority of our trainees pursue careers in research and medicine, we also appreciate that many other professions are required to bring biomedical discoveries into clinical and other applications.

Public Health Relevance

The mission of the MCD2 program (http://cellbio.med.harvard.edu/mcdd/) is to train future leaders at the forefront of discovery that will investigate the fundamental organizing principles and dynamics of molecules, cells, and tissues. Our goal is to build versatile and independent scholars capable of advancing important scientific frontiers with rigorous and novel approaches. To accomplish this, we offer a coordinated curriculum with emphasis on transferrable skills in experimental design, quantitative analysis, and project development.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
2T32GM007226-42
Application #
9279626
Study Section
NIGMS Initial Review Group (TWD)
Program Officer
Salazar, Desiree Lynn
Project Start
1975-07-01
Project End
2022-06-30
Budget Start
2017-07-01
Budget End
2018-06-30
Support Year
42
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard Medical School
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
047006379
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Giacomelli, Andrew O; Yang, Xiaoping; Lintner, Robert E et al. (2018) Mutational processes shape the landscape of TP53 mutations in human cancer. Nat Genet 50:1381-1387
Najm, Fadi J; Strand, Christine; Donovan, Katherine F et al. (2018) Orthologous CRISPR-Cas9 enzymes for combinatorial genetic screens. Nat Biotechnol 36:179-189
Egusquiaguirre, Susana P; Yeh, Jennifer E; Walker, Sarah R et al. (2018) The STAT3 Target Gene TNFRSF1A Modulates the NF-?B Pathway in Breast Cancer Cells. Neoplasia 20:489-498
Jih, Gloria; Iglesias, Nahid; Currie, Mark A et al. (2017) Unique roles for histone H3K9me states in RNAi and heritable silencing of transcription. Nature 547:463-467
Jamuar, Saumya S; Schmitz-Abe, Klaus; D'Gama, Alissa M et al. (2017) Biallelic mutations in human DCC cause developmental split-brain syndrome. Nat Genet 49:606-612
Bezzerides, Vassilios J; Zhang, Aifeng; Xiao, Ling et al. (2017) Inhibition of serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase-1 as novel therapy for cardiac arrhythmia disorders. Sci Rep 7:346
Huang, Julie; Iglesias, Nahid; Moazed, Danesh (2017) Evaluation of the Nucleolar Localization of the RENT Complex to Ribosomal DNA by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assays. Methods Mol Biol 1505:195-213
D'Gama, Alissa M; Woodworth, Mollie B; Hossain, Amer A et al. (2017) Somatic Mutations Activating the mTOR Pathway in Dorsal Telencephalic Progenitors Cause a Continuum of Cortical Dysplasias. Cell Rep 21:3754-3766
Lim, Elaine T; Uddin, Mohammed; De Rubeis, Silvia et al. (2017) Rates, distribution and implications of postzygotic mosaic mutations in autism spectrum disorder. Nat Neurosci 20:1217-1224
Ubellacker, Jessalyn M; Haider, Marie-Therese; DeCristo, Molly J et al. (2017) Zoledronic acid alters hematopoiesis and generates breast tumor-suppressive bone marrow cells. Breast Cancer Res 19:23

Showing the most recent 10 out of 88 publications