Graduate Training in Developmental Biology

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This is a competitive renewal for a predoctoral Training Program in developmental biology at the University of Pennsylvania. The Training Program serves as a melting and cohesion point in developmental biology as it includes trainers spread across four schools within the University, and students from 8 graduate groups. The Training Program also serves as an incubator for new initiatives in graduate training that continue to be adapted by graduate groups. The program continues to take advantage of an exceptionally strong programmatic foundation in developmental biology at the University of Pennsylvania. The Training Program’s goal is to provide broad-based training that uses state of the art technologies towards the fundamental mechanisms of developmental biology using a diversity of vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant organisms. Research training areas include transcription and cell signaling that control cell differentiation, migration, organogenesis, cellular senescence, morphogenesis, pattern formation, epigenetic regulation of developmental processes, and stem cell biology. Trainees receive formal instruction in an established curriculum of study, including lecture courses in developmental biology and advanced seminars on genetic, cellular, and molecular approaches to developmental mechanisms and disease. Students also participate in developmental biology journal clubs, a developmental biology seminar series that includes student invited speakers, research discussion groups on selected topics, and in annual scientific symposia. Trainees present their research findings at departmental seminars, local symposia and national conferences. Finally, the training program provides trainee specific activities: a) a yearly symposium to present their work in a more formal setting that includes an eminent external speaker who evaluates the training program; b) Professional development activities, such as careers in science meetings with invited speakers to discuss career options; mini-writing classes tailored to graduate students covering in depth grant and manuscript writing; a mini courses in experimental design, and training sessions with communication professionals; c) Show and Tell research days where trainees lecture other trainees about their project followed by a hands-on demonstration of research techniques employed by the trainee presenter, e.g. live cell imaging, d) lunchtime discussion with a Penn faculty of the trainee’s choice to learn about the faculty’s field of research and/or to discuss lab management or career path decisions, e) a day long visit to a pharmaceutical company to explore different aspects of working in this sector. The proposed training program requests 8 trainees per year. Trainees will be selected annually by an ad hoc trainer committee, and appointed for one year with the option for a second year pending satisfactory progress. Training outcomes will be evaluated yearly by measuring trainee publications, transitions to individual training awards, trainee surveys, an external evaluation, which all will be reviewed by an Executive Committee. Lastly, Trainers participate in a number of efforts to recruit under-represented minorities both locally and nationally.