Molecular Biophysics Training Program

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Program Summary / Abstract The Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) at the University of Washington (UW) is designed to train predoctoral students to apply state-of-art physical and quantitative approaches to the investigation of biomedically relevant systems at molecular and cellular levels. In the post-genomic era, basic and translational research in many biomedical areas will benefit from a wider application of rigorous and quantitative biophysical methods, which requires a highly trained workforce proficient in conducting research with these methods. The overarching objective of MBTP is to meet these needs by enhancing the research experience and training of selected UW predoctoral students interested in molecular biophysics and preparing them to develop a productive career in health-related research in academia, government, and the private sector. In response to the NIGMS FOA, Predoctoral Institutional Research Training Grant (PAR- 20-213), MBTP and five other UW T32 training programs funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) recognize the importance of conducting ongoing evaluations of the programs to monitor the success of training and mentoring activities. Yet, the past program evaluation practice of these programs lacked rigorous, robust, and systemic evaluation instruments. This compromised the qualitative, quantitative, longitudinal assessment of whether the overall programs are effective in meeting its training mission and objectives. In recognizing this gap and in response to NIGMS NOT-GM-21-024, MBTP proposes to take the lead in working with the Office of Educational Assessment of the UW to develop a framework for evaluating the outcomes and impact of training program activities. In order to enhance evaluation capacity and disseminate the outcomes, MBTP leadership will work closely with other NIGMS-funded T32 directors and the Office of Educational Assessment (OEA) at the UW to organize workshops on program evaluation, and design evaluation templates and customizable evaluation modules. MBTP will also work with OEA to carry out a sample evaluation of the training program. The resulting evaluation tools and evaluation data will be shared among all T32 training programs at the UW. With commitment from the UW School of Medicine for continuous support beyond the one year period funded by the administrative supplement, the proposed efforts will have long-lasting and institution-wise impacts.