Molecular Biophysics Training Program at Northwestern University

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Project Summary The core mission of the Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) at Northwestern University (NU) is to train the next generation of pre-doctoral students in the highly interdisciplinary field of molecular biophysics. This field seeks to describe and explain biological phenomena using fundamental physical, chemical, and mathematical principles and to leverage this knowledge to develop new medicinal therapies and engineer new biomedical tools and applications. As the sole training program at NU dedicated to this area, for 30 years MBTP has played a key role in strengthening intellectual ties and stimulating interdisciplinary collaborations among program preceptors, catalyzed by student trainees, spread over seven departments in the schools of arts & sciences, medicine, and engineering. Six pre-doctoral student trainees in their second and third years of graduate education from seven feeder graduate programs will be recruited to and supported by the training program for a maximum of two years, allowing the program to have the greatest impact early in their careers as trainees complete the required coursework, learn to think critically, frame research questions independently, acquire and hone the requisite technical skills to answer these questions, and develop operational skills to be effective communicators and researchers. Trainee learning will occur through the completion of a core biophysics curriculum established by the program that will allow students from diverse backgrounds to share a common didactic experience. Trainees will have numerous opportunities to develop and hone oral presentation skills at program-sponsored forums from intimate settings like journal clubs and research-in-progress meetings held every month to larger audiences at monthly intramural seminars and the annual symposium. Monthly seminars, annual symposia and career development forums featuring external speakers, who are also leaders in academia, industry, and other non-academic careers will not only provide trainees with opportunities for broadening and deepening knowledge in the field but also for networking and career advancement. MBTP is deeply committed towards the development of all students including those from underrepresented backgrounds for broad impact. The overarching goal of MBTP is to prepare pre-doctoral students of exceptional promise in the early stages of their scientific careers to conduct rigorous, reproducible, and responsible research in molecular biophysics by facilitating the development of both general competencies as well as the uniquely molecular biophysical skills of deep analytical and quantitative reasoning and expertise in the application of cutting-edge technologies to solve complex biological problems. By achieving our overarching goal, we will set students on a trajectory towards independence in thought and action with skills that are compatible with a spectrum of productive, intellectually-demanding careers in academia, industry, and beyond.