Bacteriology PhD Training Program

This application requests funding to support 8 second- and third-year students in the Harvard Graduate Program in Bacteriology (GPiB) T32 Training Program. The overarching goal of this program is to teach our students to identify important and outstanding biological questions while cultivating the technical skills and intellectual flexibility required to answer them. Students enter the GPiB through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) parent PhD program at Harvard Medical School (HMS) or the Biological Sciences in Public Health (BPH) parent PhD program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH). Trainees are selected for GPiB based on their expressed interest during their first year of graduate school and their choice of dissertation laboratory. At the heart of this inter-school program is a vibrant and supportive community of microbiologists that draws its strength from decades of active collaborations and scientific exchange, training successes, research infrastructure, and long-standing friendships. The breadth of research in the 33 program faculty labs reflects the important roles of bacteriology in science and society, ranging from fundamental mechanisms of bacterial cell biology to the interactions between pathogenic and commensal bacteria and their host. Scientific training in the GPiB begins with foundational and quantitative coursework in the BBS and BPH umbrella programs and is then complemented by GPiB courses that focus on basic mechanisms in bacteriology and bacteria-host interaction. These classes use primary literature to teach students to be critical readers and thinkers while developing skills in experimental design and communication. GPiB students at all levels of training engage with each other and with program faculty on a weekly basis through regular seminars, work-in-progress talks, specialized nanocourses, and community events. Professional development workshops, a science communication mentoring program, and career exploration events help trainees identify future career opportunities and develop transferable skills to attain them. Mentoring support for GPiB faculty coupled with supplemental advising from Dissertation Advisory Committees, GPiB leadership, GPiB alumni, and senior students create strong networks of mentoring support for trainees of all interests and backgrounds. Finally, surveys, town halls, external reviews, and exit interviews provide regular assessment of uptake and efficacy of GPiB courses, paracurricular activities, and research training and environment. GPiB combines the passionate, tight-knit Harvard microbiology community with rigorous, evidence-based curriculum to support the training of future leaders in bacteriology.