# Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2021 · $298,733

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences (BPHYS) trains students with backgrounds in the physical
sciences to address biological problems using quantitative approaches, thereby strengthening the biomedical
research workforce. Launched in 2007, BPHYS promotes the University of Chicago’s unique interdisciplinary
research culture. Trainees with strong undergraduate physical science preparation are selected on the basis of
their demonstrated desire to exploit the tools of the physical scientist to better understand, and to develop
therapies for, biomedical issues. The hallmark of the BPHYS Program is dual-mentored research bridging the
biological and physical sciences. The trainee is a full member of both mentors’ laboratories and becomes
adept at communicating across disciplinary boundaries. Our trainees receive training in both the biological and
physical sciences through a combination of lab-based courses, didactic courses alongside students in
traditional disciplinary programs, and program activities. Intense interdisciplinary didactic and practical training
occurs through research on an innovative, student-designed, dual-mentored thesis project. To strengthen the
training experience and expand the scope of the Program, we will introduce an open research challenge in this
project period. The entering and senior students will craft a short collaborative research proposal for
implementation in our Y1 Biological Research Immersion lab course. The BPHYS Program is in its 12th year
and has graduated 23 trainees, 15 so far in the current budget period (2014-2019). The Program has been
successful in recruiting URM students with 14% identifying as URM; all are funded by the training grant,
representing 25% of the total appointees. In addition, 36% are women. Program trainees have published 120
papers, contributing to multiple fields within basic and biomedical science. Early program graduates are
entering academia (two are Assistant Professors) and industry; other more recent graduates are currently in
post-doctoral positions. Program mentors actively recruit (and compete for) our BPHYS students because they
can forge new and lasting collaborations between groups. Due to this demand, we have increased the number
of students who matriculate into the Program over the course of the project period, from ~5 per year to ~8 per
year with no decrease in quality. Accordingly, this application requests 8 trainee slots, which will support half of
the students in the Program in their first and second years.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10242635
- **Project number:** 5T32EB009412-13
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory S Engel
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $298,733
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-03-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10242635

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10242635, Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago (5T32EB009412-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10242635. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*