# Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology

> **NIH NIH T32** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $400,507

## Abstract

Project Summary
The Duke Development and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) Program is a broad, interdepartmental consortium of
students and faculty pursuing developmental, stem cell, and regenerative biology research at the molecular,
cellular, genetic, evolutionary, and systems levels. Researchers from across over 10 departments at Duke
University and Duke School of Medicine participate. The mission of the DSCB PhD program is to train the next
generation of predoctoral scientists in principles of development, stem cell biology, and regeneration through
targeted coursework, lab research, and interactions within the DSCB community. The diverse backgrounds,
research expertise, and perspectives of our community enable us to enrich and personalize the training
environment. Our goal is to develop in our students: confidence, independent critical thinking, academic rigor,
and the intellectual curiosity and creativity to synthesize new ideas and communicate them effectively. To
accomplish this goal, we have devised a training plan which incorporates long-standing strengths of our 20 year
program with new innovations to align with contemporary training. This includes a revised curriculum, required
mentor training, and partnerships with new centralized offices at Duke focused on training biomedical
researchers and enhancing diversity.
Our plan incorporates education in core principles of development, stem cell biology and regeneration, as well
as foundational education in genetics and molecular and cellular biology. Our students also gain training in data
science principles, scientific communication, responsible conduct of research, and grant writing. This is achieved
through a curriculum composed of modular course structure, innovative hands-on-training, and discussion based
courses. Extensive laboratory training provides each student with expertise in a chosen specialty, and technical
and conceptual scientific skillsets. Our trainees present their research at meetings and publish their research in
journals, which builds their scientific communication skills. University-wide resources provide valuable
professional resources and opportunities to help students develop their full potential to pursue a diversity of
careers, and also provides platforms for tracking the progress of our students. We require mentor training and
also train our students to be mentors. Our proposal seeks 10 annual training positions which will fund students
in their second and third year of graduate school. Our 20 year old program has trained many scientists who have
gone onto high-impact, research-related careers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10832009
- **Project number:** 5T32HD040372-23
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Debra L. Silver
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $400,507
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-05-01 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10832009

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10832009, Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (5T32HD040372-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10832009. Licensed CC0.

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