Biotechnology Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Biotechnology Training Program (BTP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks to train a cadre of researchers who use cross-disciplinary approaches from the biological-physical science interface to solve biomedical research problems. The BTP is a multi-dimensional program that builds on existing disciplinary excellence across 5 colleges while providing trainees a common set of cross-disciplinary experiences. BTP trainees are admitted to and fulfill the requirements of either one of the 5 core Ph.D. programs (Biochemistry, Biomolecular Chemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Microbiology) or those of many other outstanding programs on campus. These graduate programs provide the disciplinary excellence that trainees need to become future leaders in their respective fields. A common set of crossdisciplinary experiences distinguishes BTP trainees from their peers; these include a biotechnology-oriented minor course program, regular interactions with a BTP minor professor from another discipline, participation in a biotechnology student seminar program, and an industrial internship. These common experiences ensure that all BTP trainees, regardless of their major Ph. D. program, will be conversant in the molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and physiology principles required to function as cross-disciplinary scientists and engineers in the 21st Century. UW-Madison is proud to partner with NIH in sponsoring the largest BTP in the country, with 33 NIGMS funded trainees. In its 14 year history, the BTP has trained 174 Ph.D. students who worked with 94 different faculty in 20 Ph. D. programs. As student interest in the BTP has continued to grow, the opportunities for trainees to partake of all BTP activities is increasingly constrained. Consequently, we are requesting 3 more NIH-funded positions in each of the next 2 years, so there will be a total of 39 BTP trainees at steady-state. Increased NIH support will permit more high-quality students to partake of BTP activities, expand the breadth of cross-disciplinary interactions across campus, and increase opportunities for trainees to capitalize on recent technological advances in order to solve emerging problems at the biological-physical science interface.