The University of Michigan proposes to continue pre-doctoral training in Molecular Biophysics, in each year supporting 10 Ph.D. students who will be part of a selected cohort of approximately 25 students in the Molecular Biophysics Program. The curriculum is a demanding one, intended to train scientists who will conduct research at the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics, and to attract well-prepared undergraduates with bachelor's degrees in chemistry, physics, and physical biochemistry. Molecular Biophysics is a distinctive program with particular requirements for the didactic and research phases of training. The Program has its root in the existing Ph.D. program in Biophysics, by has developed a broad interdisciplinary curriculum that offers Ph.D. degrees in four disciplines: Biophysics, Biological Chemistry, Chemistry, and Physics. The training faculty comprises physical biochemists, chemists, physicists, and others whose research focuses on the structure, functions, and interactions of bio-macromolecules. The faculty are drawn from the departments of Biological Chemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Pharmacology. A basic commitment of this faculty is to problem-oriented research that relies on applications of quantitative physical techniques. It is intended that students exploit sophisticated instrumentation, including state-of-the-art facilities for NMR spectroscopy, x-ray absorption and diffraction, ultra-fast spectroscopy, single-molecule spectroscopy, and modern computation.
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