Training in Multi-scale Analysis of Biological Structure and Function

The NIBIB Graduate Training Program in Multi-Scale Analysis of Biological Structure and Function at the University of California San Diego was established in 2005. Its goal is to train a new cadre of scientists who can cross disciplinary boundaries to solve important biomedical problems that span scales of biological organization from molecule to organism. Pre-doctoral trainees are drawn exclusively from a formal Interdisciplinary Ph.D. specialization in Multi-Scale Biology (the “Interfaces Graduate Training Program”), which includes students from 9 highly ranked participating home Ph.D. programs (Bioengineering, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Neurosciences, Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Nanoengineering). Students apply at the end of their first year of graduate studies. This T32 program brings together 39 interdisciplinary training faculty from 14 departments. Since its inception and at the time of the last T32 renewal, 48 predoctoral trainees on this T32 had graduated, including 8 from Biological Sciences, 20 from Engineering departments, 8 from Health Sciences and 12 from the Physical Sciences. In the current renewal period (Yr-16) it has supported 6 trainees from the Health Sciences (2), Engineering (4) with 27 competitive prospective applicants pending review and placement for the continuation (Yr-17). A central feature of the training curriculum is seven hands-on graduate laboratory courses that introduce students to advanced techniques for measuring and analyzing living systems at scales of biological organization spanning from molecule to whole organism. Students use state-of-the-art facilities and technologies from mass spectrometry to live cell microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. Computational labs cover multiscale modeling, neurodynamics and data sciences. The scientific focus on multi-scale analysis of biological structure and function reflects a fundamental challenge of modern biomedical science in developing and applying novel quantitative approaches from the physical, engineering, biological and health sciences to integrative problems in biomedicine. Regular program activities, including bi-weekly graduate seminars, annual symposia and retreats, course open houses and quarterly program meetings, promote interactions between students and faculty from different scientific disciplines. The dual-mentored training program is successful in promoting new interdisciplinary collaborations in important areas including developmental biology, neuroscience and cancer, cardiovascular disease, diagnostics and drug discovery. This T32 continues to train the most competitive student body to be effective leaders in structurally integrated multi-scale analysis of biological function. It includes formal instruction in Rigor and Reproducibility, has an expanded Alumni Mentor Network for trainees and a structured co-mentored interdisciplinary research rotation for all prospective students.