Continued support is requested for five years for five predoctoral trainees per year for an interdepartmental training program focused on the molecular genetics of basic cell functions. The emphasis is on rigorous training using the power of molecular genetics to study basic cell processes, such as chromosome replication, recombination, and segregation; evolution of genes and genomes; genome organization; gene function; regulation of transcription and translation; RNA processing; cell-to-cell communication; signal recognition and transduction; and membrane fusion. This training program has strongly benefited from continuous support from NIGMS since 1975. Students are supported in their second, third, or fourth year based on their commitment to in-depth genetics training in the context of thesis research. The training faculty, from the Departments of Molecular Biology & Microbiology, Developmental, Molecular & Chemical Biology, Integrative Physiology & Pathobiology, Medicine, and Chemistry, is highly interactive and dedicated to close, joint supervision and mentoring of graduate students. Importantly, the mentoring faculty has increased dramatically in the last three years because of recruitment of outstanding young faculty members and more senior investigators from a variety of disciplines that have genetics at the core of their research. Our training program, based in the Graduate Program in Molecular Microbiology, has a pool of 80-100 applicants and annually enrolls 5-7 new students, nearly all of whom are eligible for training grant support. The program has been successful in attracting a significant number of students from underrepresented groups (including six of the 33 students enrolled during the 2014-2015 academic year); all have been supported by this training grant. The majority of past trainees have obtained high-quality postdoctoral appointments and those who have completed this training are active members of the biomedical workforce with the majority pursuing careers as researchers in academia or industry. Others are high school science teachers, biotechnology-focused patent attorneys, or pursuing other science-related professions. Supported students take required courses that provide a strong grounding in genetics and are selected based on the relevance of their research to fundamental questions in molecular genetics. In addition to strong didactic training in genetics, all students are required o complete courses focused on scientific ethics and participate in teaching of medical or dental students and many have opportunities to mentor undergraduates in research activities. Students are also exposed to the range of career available to biomedical science PhD graduates and use an Individual Development Plan to guide their career preparation. Our faculty is strongly dedicated to graduate education and mentors the PhD students in terms of both their research activities and career goals.
The power of genetics to define gene function, to pinpoint the roles of proteins and their individual amino acids, and to predict susceptibility to disease lies at the heart of modern biomedical science. The training offered by our program prepares young scientists to take full advantage of genetic approaches to solve difficult, but important problems in biomedical science and human disease.
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