This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the further development of the inter-disciplinary Nanomedicine Science and Technology doctoral program at Northeastern University. The purpose of this program is to train the next generation of scientists and technologists who are skilled in research at the interface of nanotechnology, biology and medicine, are aware of the path to translate fundamental knowledge to marketplace products, are informed of the ethical and social issues relating to the discipline, and have a strong sense of community involvement as well as a global perspective.
Mentored by a team of internationally renowned scientists, technologists, and medical researchers, IGERT Nanomedicine trainees will participate in a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research program that utilizes revolutionary developments in nanotechnology to develop therapeutic and diagnostic agents of nanometer dimensions with multi-functional capabilities for diagnostics, imaging and therapeutic benefit. The program will create a unique partnership between Northeastern University, minority-serving institutions University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and Tuskegee University, and Harvard Medical School member hospitals, and is committed to a target goal that a majority of the IGERT Nanomedicine trainees will come from under-represented populations. The interdisciplinary model of graduate education will serve as a model to academic institutions world-wide. The vigorous outreach program will impact a broad segment of K-12 schools in Massachusetts, Alabama and Puerto Rico, and will encourage K-12 students from under-represented communities to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas of higher study.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.
