This interdisciplinary program provides training for some of the predoctoral students in the Brown University Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (MCB). Students are admitted to the MCB Graduate Program on the basis of their academic qualifications and research potential judged from college transcripts, letters of recommendation, a personal essay, the Graduate Record Examination, and an interview. Trainees will be chosen from the 48 students in the MCB Program, usually after 1-2 years of graduate study at Brown. Funds are requested for a total of 7 trainees in year 21 with increases of one trainee in years 22 and 24 (9 trainee slots total). Training will be appropriate for careers in both laboratory research and academic instruction. The breadth of training will be an asset to trainees in matching later career choices to national needs. The 33 matching faculty have been selected from eight Departments of the Division of Biology and Medicine and from the Department of Chemistry. The interdisciplinary training program is organized into recognition of the fact that current investigations in molecular and cell biology today draw on conceptual and experimental approaches merged from biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics immunology and virology. The students' specialty training will be in any of these areas, building on a foundation which includes elements of all. This common foundation will be achieved by core courses, distribution courses and a program of seminars, colloquia and journal clubs in which trainees, postdoctoral associates and faculty participate. The major requirement of the Program is original laboratory research leading to the doctoral thesis. The program also includes a one year requirement for teaching designed to improve communication skills. The unified structure of the Division of Biology and Medicine provides an unusual opportunity for interdisciplinary studies bridging basic science and clinical applications. All facilities of the Division of Biology and Medicine, Department of Chemistry and general facilities of Brown University are available for this training program. Our already strong graduate program has been further strengthened by recent changes in (1) recruiting/admissions (the number of US citizens who apply has doubled in the last two years), and (2) curriculum requirements (more graduate level courses are offered and core course requirements are ore flexible). The successful careers in academia and research of our Ph.D. graduate is testimony to the excellence of our training program.
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