# Training Program in Stem Cell and Regenerative Developmental Biology

> **NIH NIH T32** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $283,071

## Abstract

Project Summary
We propose to continue our 20-year NICHD T32 Program within the outstanding environment built under the
Vanderbilt Program in Developmental Biology (VUPDB). Balancing demand for slots with faculty preceptor
numbers, we request six slots, as current. T32 awards are standardly two years after a first year of core
courses and lab rotations, but mandated training continues past the two-year period. VUPDB and thus this
T32 cover basic and clinical programs in a physically compact site creating harmonious interactions and
extensive collaboration. Strengths are: (1) growth in new technologies affecting developmental biology; (2)
easy faculty-trainee access; (2) trainee and advisory committee feedback; (3) trainee-specific activities
(selecting visiting scientists, designing research forums and annual retreat, advanced teaching in faculty-
directed courses, student/postdoc-designed RCR courses, self-driven research-in-construction); (4)
excellent record of recruiting and placing trainees in academia, industry, or teaching. Guidance feedback is
internal from all levels, and by twice-per-cycle activity of an advisory committee. We pay excellent attention
to URM/disadvantaged groups, with specific mechanisms to shore up background knowledge and provide
dedicated faculty mentoring and peer-to-peer student advice. Institutional support includes funding first-year
students via an Interdisciplinary Graduate Program (IGP); (b) support funds to VUPDB for support functions
that otherwise would not exist but are key to this T32’s success. A carefully designed suite of didactic and
less formal courses and activities immerses trainees in new technology application to biological processes,
such as: mass spectrometry/cytometry; flow cytometry; super-resolution and other types of microscopy
(including a new Nikon Center of Excellence); NMR imaging; bioinformatics, biostatistics and
computational/systems biology, with a growing emphasis on single-cell analysis, epigenetic guidance and
gene-regulatory networks, and new cell-biological principles such as intracellular phase-separation. Studies
encompass embryonic patterning, organogenesis, physiological regulation, reproduction and aging, induced
pluripotency, transdifferentiation and regeneration, metaplasia and cancer. Trainees experience multi-PI and
small team-oriented efforts. Courses, lab teaching, and seminar speakers emphasize how developmental
biology also generates core insight into cell biology, biochemistry, and evolution. We leverage various model
systems based on a foundation of expertise in yeast, nematode worms, fruitflies, zebrafish, chicken, and
mouse. The Biomedical Research Education and training (BRET) office co-ordinates RCR, enhancement of
rigor in research, and workshops on various career tracks. We aim to produce trainees widely versed in
classical and forefront ‘developmental’ concepts directly relevant to human health and disease, but also
trained in comparative analyses and proce...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10171406
- **Project number:** 5T32HD007502-24
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher V Wright
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $283,071
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10171406

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10171406, Training Program in Stem Cell and Regenerative Developmental Biology (5T32HD007502-24). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10171406. Licensed CC0.

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