CHEMISTRY OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

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This revised proposal describes plans by sixteen Cornell faculty members to establish a vigorous chemistry-biology interface predoctoral training program which is designed to produce scientists having thorough training in several aspects of "pure" chemistry as well as in scientific disciplines such as structural and bioorganic chemistry, drug design, enzymology and molecular biology (to name just a few) which lie at the interface of chemistry and biology. The proposed project focuses sharply on three main features of the chemistry of biological systems: design, assembly and analysis. The purpose of the plan described herein is to help trainees develop beyond the scope of a typical graduate program in chemistry. In addition to having strong undergraduate training in chemistry, the sixteen students selected for support will further advance their interdisciplinary training by planning their graduate academic work around a core curriculum of courses in areas spanning both chemical and biological disciplines. Moreover each will be completely free to carry out his or her doctoral thesis research in one or more of the laboratories of the sixteen participating faculty. All participating faculty have strong research programs in various aspects of chemistry, which are well-funded by the National Institutes of Health. Nine participating faculty have primary academic appointments in the Department of Chemistry, and five of these chemists are elected members of the field of biochemistry. The overall research interests of participating faculty are broadly distributed over areas of synthetic organic, bioorganic, biophysical and polymer chemistry, as well as such fields as x-ray crystallography, nmr spectroscopy, protein structure and function, enzymology and immunology. While individual research groups are extremely well-equipped to conduct the proposed research, Cornell University maintains a large number of diverse instrument facilities and dedicated research centers which are available to all trainees, Besides attending weekly seminars on relevant topics within the Field of Chemistry and the Division of Biological Sciences at Cornell, trainees will participate in a special interdisciplinary seminar program, with monthly meetings during the academic year when both students and faculty present their work. Trainees will also be exposed to industrial research through internships with interested industrial affiliates as well as through campus seminars and visits by industrial scientists. Thesis research and collaborations in the laboratories of the sixteen participating faculty members prepare trainees for careers in multidisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry and biology.