Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this training program in Cell and Developmental Biology and Genetics is to produce Ph.D. graduates who have made significant and original contributions to and have broad expertise in the biomedical sciences. This renewal application is to continue the program with support for 20 trainees (5-7 trainees per year over 3 years). In the last ten years this program has graduated 47 Ph.D.'s, 45 of whom are currently professionals contributing to a wide range of scientific endeavors. The present program has grown from an initial grant to train predoctoral students in developmental biology and genetics, to a larger, more broad-based program that includes cell biology and biochemistry. Faculty trainers have been selected from 8 basic science departments based on their successful research programs, teaching interests and mentoring abilities. After completion of a first year of courses and research rotations, students are selected by the steering committee and appointed following an interview with the program director. Students are encouraged to take four core courses, which are led and team-taught by many of the program faculty. Additionally, three courses and a rigorous qualifying examination must be passed. Once a thesis laboratory is chosen, faculty mentors and student trainees must attend a course in responsible conduct of research. Trainees are guided in their research thesis project. The philosophy is to identify research projects that target significant biological questions, that require a range of experimental strategies for their investigation, and that may be completed in 5 years. This multidisciplinary approach is possible because of the state-of-the-art core facilities and equipment at Einstein, and results in extensive interactions between research groups, joint journal clubs, courses that are taught across departmental lines, and collaborative publications. Ph.D. graduates develop the technical expertise, scientific knowledge, and critical abilities essential for a career in science.