Training in Molecular, Cellular, and Chemical Biology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The mission of the Training Program in Molecular, Cellular and Chemical Biology (MCCB) is to foster the development of outstanding young scientists in interdisciplinary research encompassing the fields of biology and chemistry. The MCCB training program is currently in its second year, having evolved from the long standing Training Program in Biochemistry. With a history spanning some 45 years and producing hundreds of world class researchers and scientists, the Training Program in Biochemistry had been regarded as among the most effective in the country, producing researchers at the forefront of the biochemical sciences. Many of its past trainees have made outstanding contributions to science both as graduate students and subsequently, in positions of leadership as independent investigators in academe and industry. While the Biochemistry Program has included participants from both the Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) and Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) Departments, it did not attempt to formalize connections between these two sets of trainees. As the disciplines of chemistry and biology have become increasingly interwoven in the last decade, an urgent need developed to move toward a truly interdisciplinary training experience. In response to the broader and progressive direction in research in the fields of biology and chemistry, the MCB and CCB departments joined together in 2001 to create the Training Program in Molecular, Cellular and Chemical Biology. This is not merely a revised program, but a comprehensive and robust reorganization of the research, curricular, administrative and training elements of its predecessor. Trainees in MCCB have course requirements in both MCB and CCB, are jointly overseen by an Advisory Committee comprised of faculty from both departments, and have numerous program-sponsored opportunities for interaction with their peers and the participating MCCB faculty. For instance, for the first time in its more than one hundred thirty year history, the Chemistry (CCB) department has offered its trainees the opportunity to participate in research rotations. The overwhelmingly positive response of the trainees to these rotations resulted in the unprecedented move to require research rotations of all CCB students. While the new MCCB program has been in operation for a relatively brief period of time, we believe this new incarnation will continue a long history of excellence in training a new generation of biochemists.