Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the UCLA Biotechnology Training in Biomedical Science and Engineering (BTBSE) Program is to educate and to train the next generation of highly skilled scientists and engineers who will assume leadership roles in multidisciplinary biotechnology research. This goal is achieved through a cohesive 2-year training program entailing multidisciplinary research, a common curriculum composed of formal coursework in life science and engineering and of a cross-disciplinary laboratory rotation, and an industrial internship. The required coursework is comprised of a course in macromolecular synthesis and structure, a course on molecular biotechnology from an engineer's perspective, the "Biotechnology Forum" course, and a class in research ethics. Life science trainees must work in the research laboratory of an engineering mentor for at least three months; likewise the engineers spend time in the laboratory of their life science mentor. A biotechnology community is fostered principally through the monthly trainee lunch seminar series and the Annual Biotechnology Symposium, which brings together ~50 students, faculty and industry representatives. Trainees who complete this program will be equipped to function productively in the multidisciplinary teams of bioengineers and life scientists prevalent in the industry. The interface between the life/health sciences and engineering is extraordinarily rich in its diversity and this biotechnology program focuses broadly on molecular and cellular research. Faculty participants in the proposed BTBSE Program all mentor Ph.D. students who conduct research focused at the molecular and cellular level, and most have established cross-disciplinary collaborations. Three interconnected theme areas have been identified and are i) synthetic biology and metabolic engineering; ii) bionanotechnology and tissue engineering; and iii) Molecular, Cellular and Systems Biology. Such an array of research activities conducted by collaborating researchers provides an exciting menu of multidisciplinary research opportunities to trainees. Faculty participants in the proposed training program have had the opportunity to recruit from a pool of over 100 eligible Ph.D. students this academic year. The Director and faculty mentors are very active and successful in underrepresented minority student development and recruitment, especially from the very diverse, populous greater Los Angeles area. Several major changes are noted for this renewal application, including change of the program director to Prof. Yi Tang, turnover of ~20% of training faculty to increase collaboration and training participation, and reconstitution of the training committee members.