UNM TRAINING

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

It is clear that the next generation of experimental biologists studying cell signaling must be equipped to work productively and in teams with mathematical, computational and physical scientists. It is also clear that current problems in cell signaling represent rich opportunity for the development of entirely new mathematics, statistics and computer science. The STMC Training Core will integrate training in the biomedical sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering in order to produce a new generation of researchers equipped with the biological and computational knowledge to answer critical biological questions in the 21*'century. Through a variety of funding sources the STMC will maintain a cohort of 10-12 graduate students. The Training Core budget will provide stipends to two STMC Fellows per year in the Biomedical Sciences graduate program (BMSGP) or in the graduate programs of the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, Physics and Astronomy, Computer Science, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Additional stipends for STMC Fellows will come from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Development and from the CRTC (see letters attached). STMC Fellows may also receive support from the School of Medicine (through the MD/PhD program that recruits 1-2 students per year), the SOE (every student accepted to the two IGERT nanobiology training grants receives two years of NSF support) and the National labs (every student who selects a primary mentor at SNL or LANL is eligible for lab fellowships). Finally, Drs. Oliver, Wilson, D. Lidke, Prossnitz and Edwards are all members of the NIAID-funded Infectious Disease and Inflammation (IDIP) T32 grant, which has a "Bridging Technologies" thrust directed towards STMC students. Senior undergraduates recommended by colleagues in the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering will have access to STMC coursework and seminars. Four of these students will be hired as project assistants ($5,000/academic year) to participate in STMC projects. Additional academic year undergraduate stipends are available from the NIH-funded MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers) and IMSD (Initiative for Minority Student Development) programs, which are coordinated through UNM's PROFOUND (Program of Research Opportunities FOr UNDergraduates) office. Undergrads will have the opportunity for paid summer research experiences at LANL and SNL. Current and recent STMC Project Assistants include Bobur Umarov (CS), Jack Moffitt (Math), Claire Ralph (Biology), Michelle Costa (ChNE) and Joan Goldsworthy (Biochemistry). Medical students will also be encouraged to participate in STMC activities. The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education funds medical student research projects. The Training Core will also support four Postdocs at 50% effort. Mentors will generate matching funds from grants and through successful competition in the Postdoc Match programs of the SOM and CRTC. Finally, the courses, seminars and workshops of the training core will be available to students who are not working directly with STMC mentors. This "open door" policy will create opportunities for all interested students, fellows and faculty from the physical, mathematical and computational sciences to access problems and collaborators in the biological sciences and, conversely, for life sciences researchers to acquire quantitative skills that are sufficiently sophisticated to allow them to work productively and in teams with their mathematical and physical sciences colleagues.