Training Program in Biomolecular Technology

University Of California Davis, Davis CA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a proposal to the Graduate Training Program in Biotechnology in support of 10-15 trainee positions for predoctoral students. The renamed Training Program in Biomolecular Technology has been highly successful in training predoctoral students in biotechnology at the University of California at Davis. The program provides well-coordinated multidisciplinary training of graduate students in critical areas of biotechnology research and a structure for interdisciplinary research environments that integrate basic biological science and engineering disciplines as well as academic and industrial experiences. This program has provided direct support for 36 second to fourth year graduate students and indirect support for 54 first year graduate students over the last 10 years. The Program has been restructured so that training is focused in the cross-disciplinary fields of the physical sciences, especially engineering, and the biological sciences. Discipline oriented training is provided by relevant graduate groups. The tools and framework for interdisciplinary research are provided by all of the students in our program completing our Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology (DEB). The DEB provides an effective multidisciplinary biotechnology concentration over and above the discipline-oriented requirements of graduate groups, The Program includes proactive and interactive research training, a core course, specialized multidisciplinary courses, a student run research seminar, a seminar series with leading extramural researchers in the field of biotechnology, research meetings, retreats and other efforts aimed at developing integrated projects on campus and with affiliates. Students complete their first year of graduate training in residence at UC-Davis. The heart of this program is the research training that occurs in the university and industrial trainers' laboratories during the student's second to fourth years. In addition to campus research all students spend three to six months with an industrial trainer. The Retreat serves as a forum for presentations and discussion of research progress, internship experiences, ideas and proposals by trainees and company and academic trainers related to biotechnology. A 15-member Executive Committee assists the director in administering the Program while a subcommittee of Academic Senate members in biology and engineering determines course content. Trainers and trainees are evaluated annually by the Committee to ensure the most effective training program. The quality of the training environment is assessed from publication records, research grant support, record of student training, emphasis on biomolecular technology projects and multidisciplinary collaboration with other laboratories. The program is designed to recruit and support trainees who show exceptional promise and to immerse them in interdisciplinary research.