The Training Program in Cellular Systems and Integrative Physiology (CSIP) at UNC-Chapel Hill is a multidisciplinary predoctoral training program that uses a systems approach to provide comprehensive, biomedical graduate education to our trainees. The CSIP program is designed around evidence-based training activities, including didactic coursework, seminar courses focusing on scientific communication and grant-writing, career building activities, and novel doctoral research. Our rationale is that by combining these training approaches, the UNC CSIP Training Program will produce a diverse pool of well-trained scientists and leaders with the skills necessary to transition into successful careers in the biomedical research workforce. The multidisciplinary and interdepartmental CSIP Training Program draws its mentoring faculty and leadership members from 8 basic science departments (Biochemistry and Biophysics, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology and Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology, and Pharmacology) and 7 clinical departments (Medicine, Neurology, Nutrition, Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery) that span the UNC School of Medicine, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Public Health. The CSIP Training Program will transcend these individual departments to provide hands-on training and mentorship from our collaborative faculty and extracurricular, structured training opportunities across the CSIP departments. Our distinguished faculty emphasize rigor, transparency, integrity, and creative scientific reasoning that provide a broad, integrated biological foundation centered on organ systems and human diseases and have the vast resources of UNC at their disposal. By going beyond the minimum requirements of the Ph.D. granting departments and curriculums, the CSIP Training Program will serve as a model for graduate student training and education. In support of the CSIP Training Program, we request 5 years of funding to train predoctoral students for 2 years in the cellular and physiological processes of higher organisms across various scales (from molecular to whole-organism) and provide meaningful career development activities designed to prepare a diverse student population for a variety of biomedical career paths. The University of North Carolina is a national leader in developed programs to support ethnic, cultural, and physical diversity and the CSIP Training Program will strive to continue and build upon this strong tradition. .
The overarching goal of the Systems and Integrative Biology Predoctoral Training Program in Cellular Systems and Integrative Physiology (CSIP Training Program) is to develop an inclusive and supportive graduate training environment to create a diverse pool of responsible and self-directed scientists who will enter the ever-changing biomedical career landscape with a broad understanding of cell biology and physiology across multiple biological scales. Through this systems approach, trainees will develop skill in critical thinking, quantitative literacy, and professional communication to become productive, ethical leaders in the biomedical workforce.
