# Graduate Training Program in Bioinformatics

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $390,103

## Abstract

Graduate Training Program in Bioinformatics
Program Abstract
Biology is increasingly becoming an information-driven science. To harness the opportunities of the post-
genomic era in furthering health sciences research and improving health care, there is an enormous demand for
biologists who are trained in mathematics and computer science and can think quantitatively. However, current
disciplinary graduate training programs are not designed to accommodate these rapid changes in the biological
research perspective. This need serves as the motivation for the development of specialized graduate training
programs that will train students at the interface between biology, engineering and computer science. To address
this need, UCSD established an interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Bioinformatics in 2001 under the
directorship of Dr. Shankar Subramaniam. In 2008, it was renamed Graduate Program in Bioinformatics and
Systems Biology and reorganized. The current program directors Drs. Trey Ideker, Euegene Yeo, and Theresa
Gaasterland work closely with the Training Grant co-PIs Dr. Subramaniam, Vineet Bafna, and Theresa
Gaasterland, and with an active steering committee containing representative faculty from all five participating
UCSD schools and academic divisions. The primary objectives of this (renewal) application of the Training Grant
by the three co-PIs are to continue and expand this premier Graduate Program, and support the highest quality
students in their truly interdisciplinary training which blends biomedicine, computer science and engineering. The
Program will continue to evolve the curriculum (including online offerings) and develop and offer electives that
will prepare students for the challenges of big data and computational biomedical research. The program will
continue its mode of training that begins with a set of research rotations in laboratories of faculty members, and
continues through doctoral research work under the supervision of a PhD advisor and co-advisor who provide
complementary interdisciplinary expertise. The Program will also continue a recently established weekly
Colloquium, the student Journal Club, and annual retreat. In the course of their training, program students have
contributed important discoveries and impactful advances in health sciences research. Alumni of the program
are placed in leading positions in Academia and industry. Given the extraordinary number and quality of
applicants, the capacity and eagerness of the Program faculty to train the Program’s students, and the
institutional support for the Program, this application seeks to increase the number of trainee slots to 12.
Following Training Grant support of Graduate students during their course work education and initial research
training, all graduate students will be supported by their thesis advisors for the duration of their PhD studies. The
Proposal outlines our past success in training students and discusses significant novel strategies for enh...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10089978
- **Project number:** 1T32GM139790-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Vineet Bafna
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $390,103
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10089978

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10089978, Graduate Training Program in Bioinformatics (1T32GM139790-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10089978. Licensed CC0.

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