The UC Davis enhanced Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Training Program

NIH RePORTER · NIH · T32 · $764,607 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

ABSTRACT The primary goal of the enhanced Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (eMCDB) Training Program at UC Davis is to ensure the success of our diverse predoctoral Trainees in graduate school and prepare them for impactful careers in the biomedical workforce by nurturing productive, rigorous, resilient scientists and confident communicators. A secondary goal of the eMCDB Program is to enhance the training and career development of a broad cohort of PhD students at UC Davis by extending our activities far beyond our Program. A dynamic and experienced team of 63 Faculty Trainers from 18 academic departments will provide our training. These trainers, carefully selected from the top molecular, cellular, and developmental biologists on campus, offer wide-ranging interdisciplinary training in basic and translational life science research. Each has an active research program, a successful track record of mentoring, and a commitment to fostering safe, inclusive, and supportive training environments. Trainees are selected from the most qualified graduate students across five affiliated Graduate Groups through a holistic process that recognizes and values their own cultural individualities. Training is accomplished by integrating Graduate Group coursework and mentored PhD dissertation research in individual laboratories with a coherent set of curricular and training activities developed by this Program to support each Trainee’s growth along six skillsets critical for graduate training and lifelong career progression: scientific rigor, communication, wellness and resilience, mentoring, career development, and diversity. The effectiveness of our Program’s activities will be regularly and rigorously evaluated to allow Program leadership to adapt and ensure that Program goals are met. Our activities, whenever possible, will be offered to all graduate students in biological sciences at UC Davis, consistent with our goal to enhance training and career development broadly, and in an effort to build community. We are confident that this Training Program will thoroughly prepare our Trainees for the changing technical and intellectual climate faced by the next generation of basic biomedical scientists. This Training Program requests support for 16 predoctoral student slots to support eight Trainees for two years each, during the second and third year of their PhD training. Institutionally, UC Davis has made major commitments to establish a vibrant faculty and cutting-edge infrastructure to support research in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. The substantial institutional support allocated to this Training Program further reflects our shared goals to deliver outstanding, high-quality graduate training for eMCDB Trainees and our commitment to support the development of the national biomedical research workforce.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10849147
Project number
1T32GM153586-01
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
Principal Investigator
Frederic Louis Chedin
Activity code
T32
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$764,607
Award type
1
Project period
2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30