Training Program in Marine Biotechnology

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Training Program in Marine Biotechnology This renewal application for a Training Program (TP) in Marine Biotechnology at UC San Diego represents the third cycle of requested support for this unique program. As a discipline, marine biotechnology has seen considerable advancement in recent years with an increasing number of valuable products being derived from or inspired by marine life forms. Hence, this TP has the goal of training a diverse workforce with the appropriate multidisciplinary education to work at the confluence of marine science, organic chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, genomics, cell biology, and computational science. In this immediately past cycle of 4 years, we demonstrated that the program could operate as envisioned by both the TP leadership and the NIH with a superb group of highly talented and enthusiastic trainees, one---third of whom are members of underrepresented minority groups. These trainees are participating in a robust curriculum in Marine Biotechnology, involved in a student---run invited seminar speaker program and year---end research retreat, have completed their Responsible Conduct in Research training on time, and have engaged in the unique Industrial Internship feature of the program during their period of NIH trainee support. In this renewal application, four senior faculty no longer involved in graduate student training have retired from the TP, and five new and diverse faculty in sciences related to marine biotechnology have been added. This Training Program has developed considerable campus recognition, and is highly appreciated and supported by campus administration, including generous matching funds as detailed in this proposal and support letters. The proposed path forward for this TP in the next cycle involves additional solidification of the policies and procedures of this training program, further enhancement of our underrepresented minority and people with disabilities recruitment, and refinement of the running of the program with greater use of our External Advisory Committee and other participant feedback.