Predoctoral Training in Molecular Biophysics

描述(由申请人提供)：这项续签提案寻求继续支持科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的NIH/CU分子生物物理学博士前培训计划。这项已有九年历史的计划的目标是为杰出的、积极进取的生物物理学学生为富有成效的研究事业做准备。37名培训教师是一支杰出的、国际公认的研究人员团队，他们来自四个系：化学和生物化学；分子、细胞和发育生物学；化学和生物工程；以及物理学。这些教师与他们的学生一起，正在使用最先进的生物物理方法来阐明从单分子到复杂、多组分组装的系统中大分子结构、动力学、机制和功能的基本方面。其中许多项目侧重于与人类健康和疾病直接相关的问题。分子生物物理学是博尔德校区增长最快的研究领域。在过去的十年里，37名培训人员中有20人已经抵达博尔德。这一增长背后的一个重要推动力是NIH/CU分子生物物理培训计划，该计划由NIH和大学基金共同支持。该培训计划通过不同实验室和部门的生物物理学家的广泛合作，建立了一个蓬勃发展的生物物理学社区。此外，该项目为生物物理学博士前学生提供严格的培训，确保这些学生获得开展尖端生物物理研究所需的广泛的跨学科基础。必修课程包括专门为该项目开发的生物物理学课程和负责任的研究行为课程。第一年的培训包括课程作业、实验室轮换和教学任务。第二年的培训包括额外的课程作业和为计划中的博士候选人口试论文项目答辩。在第二年之后，学生们每年都会与一个教员委员会会面，该委员会对他们的论文研究提供独立的反馈。在所有培训年，定期的生物物理学研讨会和超级小组会议鼓励生物物理学学生、教师和实验室之间进行强有力的沟通和合作。在当前的资助期内，培训计划在多个方面取得了强劲的进展，表现在1)增加了令人兴奋的新教师，2)招募了越来越多的高质量、合格的学生加入成员系，3)增加了入学人数，4)增加了未被充分代表的群体的参与和毕业，5)培训方面的创新，6)强劲的出版物、毕业率和博士后录取率，以及7)培训实验室之间的大量合作出版物。 与公共健康相关：该培训计划的目标是为分子生物物理学领域富有成效的研究事业培养杰出的、高度上进的博士毕业生。训练有素的生物物理学家在阐明人类健康和疾病的分子基础方面发挥着至关重要的作用。这些研究人员研究关键细胞成分的结构、机制和功能，从而提供所需的信息，以(I)在分子水平上了解疾病，(Ii)针对癌症、糖尿病、炎症、心脏病、免疫和神经疾病等疾病设计新的治疗方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This renewal proposal seeks continuing support for the NIH/CU Molecular Biophysics Predoctoral Training Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The goal of this nine-year old program is to prepare exceptional, highly motivated biophysics students for productive research careers. The thirty- seven training faculty are an outstanding, internationally recognized group of investigators from four departments: Chemistry & Biochemistry; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology; Chemical & Biological Engineering; and Physics. These faculty, together with their students, are using state-of-the- art biophysical methods to elucidate fundamental aspects of macromolecular structure, dynamics, mechanism, and function in systems ranging from single molecules to complex, multi-component assemblies. Many of these projects focus on questions of direct relevance to human health and disease. Molecular Biophysics is the most rapidly growing research field on the Boulder campus. Twenty of the thirty-seven training faculty have arrived in Boulder within the last ten years. An important driving force behind this growth is the NIH/CU Molecular Biophysics Training Program, jointly supported by NIH and University funds. The training program has established a thriving biophysical community with extensive collaborations among biophysicists in different laboratories and departments. Moreover, the program provides rigorous training for predoctoral students of biophysics, ensuring that such students receive the broad, interdisciplinary foundation needed to carry out cutting edge biophysical research. Required coursework includes biophysical courses developed specifically for the program and a Responsible Conduct of Research course. Training during the first year includes coursework, laboratory rotations, and teaching duties. Training during the second year includes additional coursework and defense of the planned thesis project in an oral PhD candidacy exam. Following the second year, students meet yearly with a faculty committee that provides independent feedback on their thesis research. In all training years, regular Biophysics Seminars and Super group meetings encourage strong communication and collaboration between biophysical students, faculty, and laboratories. During the current funding period, the training program has exhibited strong progress in multiple dimensions as evidenced by 1) addition of exciting new faculty, 2) recruitment of growing numbers of high quality, eligible students to the member departments, 3) increased participation by matriculates, 4) increased participation and graduation of underrepresented groups, 5) innovations in training, 6) strong publication, graduation, and postdoctoral entrance rates of trainees, and 7) large numbers of collaborative publications between training laboratories. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this training program is to prepare exceptional, highly motivated PhD graduates for productive research careers in the field of Molecular Biophysics. Well-trained biophysicists play essential roles in elucidating the molecular basis of human health and disease. Such researchers investigate the structures, mechanisms, and functions of crucial cellular components, thereby providing the information needed to (i) understand disease on a molecular level and (ii) design new treatments targeting diseases including cancer, diabetes, inflammation, heart disease, immune and neurological disorders.