Integrated Membrane Program (IMP)

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Project Summary The Integrated Membrane Program (IMP) T32 Training Grant will address an important gap that exists in the biomedical workforce of the future. The IMP will address research training needs in the area of biological membranes (biomembranes), which are crucially important structures that define and separate physical spaces within and outside cells, making them fundamental to life on Earth. However, biomembranes do much more, as they control intracellular signaling and development, are required for energy production, mediate drug delivery and drug resistance, are essential for making essential cellular macromolecules, and affect growth and movement, which impacts cancer and other diseases. Thus, understanding biomembranes impacts many critical areas of biomedical research. Biomembranes research as a field covers the mechanisms by which membranes are synthesized from their constituent proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, are trafficked and changed in response to the environment, and then in turn affect the many processes described above. Additionally, human manipulation of natural and synthetic membranes can be harnessed for myriad applications from computation to energy production to the development of new materials. Multiple fields and disciplines including biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, and computational science have applicability to biomembranes, but increasingly, there is a need for scientists who can bridge these fields and integrate different approaches to meet the next generation of research challenges. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) has unique breadth and depth in biomembrane research, with federally funded, collaborative researchers spanning 7 departments in 4 colleges. The 32 faculty in the IMP mentor pool have a shared commitment to establish a training program that will span fields and disciplines. These scientists are already working together through the establishment of the UT- facilitated Community of Scholars (COS) for Biomembranes, which has met 2-3 times every semester since 2018, and where many students have presented seminars on their research. The shared research, training, and overall momentum that exists within the Biomembranes COS forms the foundation for the IMP T32. Multiple investigators within the Biomembranes COS have ongoing collaborations that span fields and disciplines, and have co-mentored graduate students. The establishment of a T32-based IMP will formalize this integrated approach to training so these students can advance fundamental knowledge of biomembranes and apply this knowledge to improve human health. In addition to integrated training in science, the IMP will further enhance training in responsible conduct of research, reproducibility, and diversity and inclusion, which are already being addressed at UT, but will be formalized under this NIH T32 mechanism.