Northwestern Center for Reproductive Science Predoctoral Training Program in Reproductive Science, Medicine, and Technology

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The Northwestern Center for Reproductive Science Predoctoral Training Program in Reproductive Science, Medicine, and Technology (CRS Training Program) will train future leaders in the reproductive sciences, while simultaneously improving human health. Over the 5-years of the CRS Training Program, we will train a total of 27 predoctoral students (in two year cohorts). These trainees will come from 6 of Northwestern's top graduate programs in the life sciences, chemistry, bioengineering, and medicine. Our freshly minted doctorates will enter the professional arena at an unusual time for science – one marked by low funding and fierce job competition. Therefore, we have designed a comprehensive educational paradigm with a focus on cutting edge and emerging technologies that will create successful leaders in reproductive science and across multiple disciplines in this lean, face-paced environment. Our trainees will receive well-rounded training in reproductive science and medicine through coursework spanning didactics on basic and clinical male and female reproductive physiology, reproductive technologies laboratory skills, research proposals and scientific communication, and responsible conduct of research. Our 20 CRS Training Program Mentors come from 12 departments and study reproductive science and medicine from basic, translational, and clinical perspectives. This diversity is complemented by a common emphasis on technological advances, as all mentors are either inventors or use new technologies to solve the largest unanswered questions in infertility and fertility, infectious diseases, reproductive tract diseases, and cancer. Trainee coursework and laboratory training will be bolstered by unique CRS Training Program experiences. All trainees will participate in Academic Accelerator Partnerships, which are extended laboratory and core facility exchanges, short courses, or externships designed to expose students to team science and the latest technologies related to their dissertation research. Trainees will also receive formalized professional and career development upskilling through our Career Catalyst Series which exposes our trainees to diverse career opportunities and prime them with the necessary career skills, including communication (written, oral, visual), self-assessment, networking, teamwork, and outreach. Our CRS Training Program is embedded in the Center for Reproductive Science (CRS), which has a four-decade history of keeping reproductive science and medicine visible, viable, and valuable. The CRS infrastructure will provide a physical space for our trainees and an intellectual hub of data clubs, seminars, workshops, and summits. Reproductive health is all-encompassing, and our program incorporates diversity across the spectrum - from our trainees, to our mentors, and to our outreach communities. Ultimately, this ambitious but tangible CRS Training Program will provide trainees with the most comprehensive formal training in our field; this coupled with the enthusiasm of our outstanding faculty and the career catapulting technologies that can be brought to bear on the critical questions of our field together represent the keys to successful training in reproductive science.