Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Grant

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This pre-doctoral training program at the Chemistry-Biology Interface involves 29 training faculty from three departments at the University of Minnesota: Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics (BMBB). It seeks to provide a research training experience to its trainees that cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries of Chemistry and Biology. Common research themes include: Biocatalysts and Bimolecular Design (Distefano, Kauzlauskus, Lipscomb, Ohlendorf, Schmidt-Dannert, Wackett, Wagner, Wilmot, York), Therapeutic Agents (Amin, Bernlohr, Distefano, Georg, Hoye, Mansky, Sturla, Tretyakova, Wagner, Xing), Chemistry of Disease (Arriaga, Bernlohr, Mansky, Murphy, Sturla, Tretyakova, Wagner, Walters, Xing), Metallobiochemistry (Amin, Lipscomb, Murphy, Ohlendorf, Pierre, Que, Tolman, Wackett, Wilmot, York), and Bioanalytical/Biophysical (Arriaga, Bowser, Griffin, Haynes, Pierre, Taton, Tretyakova, Thomas, Veglia, Walters). The research groups of the training faculty are all well supported and well equipped. There are extensive facilities for peptide and oligonucleotide synthesis, biofermentation, mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, NMR, and computation. Support is requested for 8 trainees each year of the program, each to be supported for a two-year period. Prospective trainees will generally have undergraduate degrees in chemistry, biochemistry or oiology. They will be expected to obtain thorough grounding in chemistry, as well as molecular biology and biochemistry. The particular emphasis of this training program is a focus on research problems that address synthetic/mechanistic questions in biological systems, with the goal of understanding and influencing key at the molecular level. The defining characteristic for this training program will be to allow first-rate students to grow into accomplished professionals both in their primary area of interest and in a complementary field. Students will choose from a menu of required coursework in chemistry and biology. In addition, laboratory rotations, a chemical biology colloquium, an annual symposium, journal clubs, and joint group meetings will enrich the graduate experience of the trainees. RELEVANCE: The CBITG trainers and their trainees collectively carry out research on fundamental questions related to current important problems in public health. These include understanding how cancers are initiated in the cell, how obesity and diabetes develop and how a muscle works, designing and developing new drugs and assay probes against cancer, HIV, and Alzheimer's disease, and understanding how chemicals are broken down in the environment.