Predoctoral Training in Molecular Biopysics

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This new proposal seeks NIH support for the Molecular Biophysics Graduate Training Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The goal of our rapidly expanding predoctoral training program is to prepare exceptional, highly motivated biophysics students for productive research careers in academia or industry. The 27 training faculty are an outstanding, internationally recognized group of investigators from three departments: Chemistry & Biochemistry; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology; and Chemical Engineering. Their research, which includes many collaborative projects, ranges from high resolution structural studies of proteins and nucleic acids, to physical, computational, and chemical analysis of enzyme and signaling protein mechanisms, to structural and kinetic analysis of large supermolecular complexes, to biophysical studies of cell physiology, to pharmaceutical development and tissue engineering. The program began in 1997 as an informal supergroup meeting, then was formally established as the Molecular Biophysics Interdepartmental Graduate Certificate Program in AY1999-2000. Students who complete this program receive a certificate from the Graduate School acknowledging their graduate training in Molecular Biophysics, in addition to the Ph.D. awarded by their home department. Each student begins the first year with Core courses in their home department, three laboratory rotations, and teaching duties. At the end of the first year, a thesis advisor is selected and thesis research commences. During the second year and beyond, the student takes approved courses relevant to their research project. Required coursework includes a research ethics course and two additional courses selected from an approved list. One of the selected courses must be either "Techniques in Molecular Biophysics" or "Advances in Molecular Biophysics", both developed specifically for the training program. At the end of the second year, written and oral qualifying examinations analyze the readiness of the student to advance to Ph.D. candidacy and evaluate the proposed thesis project. In each subsequent year, a research presentation and meeting with a faculty committee provides feedback on progress toward the Ph.D. degree. All trainees and training faculty are expected to participate in regular meetings of the Biophysics Supergroup and Seminar Series. Those students considering a biotechnology career can elect to complete an optional laboratory internship at one of several local biotechnology companies. The typical student will obtain a Ph.D. from their home department within 5-6 years of matriculation, then go on to postdoctoral training and a career in academia or with a pharmaceutical/biotechnology company.