Molecular Biophysics Training Grant at Vanderbilt

The application of quantitative approaches to study biology and medicine is an essential underpinning for the advancement of biomedical research. This proposal requests support for the Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) at Vanderbilt University, which was founded in 1989. The goal of our program is to train students to work at the interface between quantitative molecular approaches and key problems in biology and medicine within an environment that fosters the success of all students. The MBTP operates in a unique niche compared with typical domain-specific programs, providing both a deeper grounding in the physical sciences for trainees who have a life sciences background, and a more thorough exposure to the life sciences and medicine than is usual for students with a physical sciences, mathematics or engineering background. Although the program draws its training faculty from 9 different departments in the School of Medicine, the College of Arts & Science, and the School of Engineering, it is rooted in an established network of common research and training activities. The number of 83 current students associated with the MBTP is > 2.5 times the number (27) from 15 years ago. Together, our trainees, the 28 Training Faculty, the scientific staff, and our postdoctoral fellows make for a highly collegial and collaborative community of ~150 members. Beyond their individually tailored curriculum, trainees meet along with the entire MBTP community for a minimum of three formal research seminars and one informal gathering each month. The scope of research in the community spans the range of modern molecular biophysics, from understanding the principles of protein folding, to structural characterization of membrane proteins, to defining the action of multi-protein cellular machinery, to investigating the movement of biomolecules into, out of, and within cells. Research projects involve a broad spectrum of physical, biochemical, and computational approaches, including x-ray crystallography, NMR, EPR and fluorescence spectroscopies, small angle scattering, cryo-electron microscopy, cell imaging with a range of light microscopies and molecular/cellular simulations. Most trainees utilize several of these approaches. Trainees join the MBTP in their first year of graduate training after choosing a thesis laboratory and are typically supported for two years. This grant support is requested to cover time needed for additional specialized didactic training, the initiation of thesis research, and professional development for 10 trainees. Importantly, whether T32-funded or not, all trainees (and their preceptors) will remain active in MBTP program activities throughout the duration of their graduate training. Overall, the MBTP enriches each student’s research and training experience and is designed to foster the development of the next generation of independent biomedical scientists.