# Molecular Biophysics Training Grant at Vanderbilt

> **NIH NIH T32** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $549,359

## Abstract

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 a diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment. 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. Moreover, 13 of the current trainees (16%) are from groups that are
underrepresented in science. 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 biom...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10767400
- **Project number:** 1T32GM152286-01
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** WALTER J. CHAZIN
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $549,359
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10767400

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10767400, Molecular Biophysics Training Grant at Vanderbilt (1T32GM152286-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10767400. Licensed CC0.

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