Harvard Biophysics Graduate Program training grant

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This application requests support for the Biophysics Graduate Program at Harvard University. The mission of the Program is to provide students who have strong undergraduate backgrounds in quantitative sciences (especially physics and mathematics) with broad training in the biophysical, chemical, and molecular concepts and techniques that are required to address outstanding problems in biology and biomedical sciences. This profoundly interdisciplinary program supports the training of students from a broad, multidisciplinary spectrum of academic backgrounds and experiences to develop and use experimental, computational, and theoretical approaches to address important questions at the interface of physical and biological sciences. The cross-campus Biophysics Program unifies 60 Training Faculty from all across Harvard University, including Harvard’s main (Cambridge) campus and the basic science and clinical departments of Harvard Medical School (HMS) and its teaching hospitals, creating a highly interactive and collaborative training environment for impactful and rigorous biophysics research.  The Program offers a flexible curriculum with two required courses and electives drawn from offerings across the Harvard campuses. Courses and structured activities — including a 2nd-year mini-symposium, a preliminary qualifying exam based on an original research proposal on a topic distinct from the dissertation research, a student research seminar series, and an annual off-site Research Retreat with student and faculty research talks and a poster session — provide a strong foundation that emphasizes research design, rigor and reproducibility, and written and oral scientific communication to a variety of audiences. The Program supports trainees to pursue dissertation research in a variety of disciplines relevant to molecular biophysics with strengths in the areas of structural biology, computational biology, quantitative cell biology, single-molecule biophysics, neuroscience, and imaging. The Program also leverages rich institutional resources to further support the trainees’ professional development. The Program empowers the trainees’ career exploration by engaging with a rich alum network, including bimonthly “Chats with Biophysicists” events and an annual dinner gathering of admitted and current students with faculty and local alum during the Recruitment Visit. The Program aims to equip trainees for a wide range of science-related careers. 2009-2024 training grant eligible (TGE) alum outcomes indicate success: 70% are in primarily research positions; all others are in clinical or science-related careers.  In the past 5 years, the time-to-degree averages 5.4 years, and the Program continues to improve how it tracks and supports trainee progress. Over 35 years of funding, the previous grant has supported up to 16 trainees (12 currently). In this proposal we request support for 16 trainees; with rare exceptions, 8 students will each be funded in their 1st and 2nd years of graduate studies.Â