# Molecular Biology Across Scales Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2024 · $1,873,365

## Abstract

Project Summary / Abstract
Molecular Biology Across Scales (MBAS) is a new multidisciplinary predoctoral training program that will
develop the next generation of researchers discovering how molecules, cells, and tissues interact to create life
and how this information can advance human health. MBAS will be the only graduate program at the University
of California, Berkeley that supports broad-based training in multiple disciplines of molecular biology, rather than
specialization within a particular discipline. This perspective has driven many of the transformative biological
discoveries of recent years, including several made by MBAS faculty. MBAS will draw its students and faculty
from the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology (MCB) Graduate Program, uniting those who tackle
fundamental research problems at length scales ranging from individual molecules to complex biochemical
systems to whole organisms. It will appoint 40 students (20 first-year trainees annually for a two-year term) with
a target of 30% from historically excluded groups in the biological sciences. MBAS will provide diverse training
opportunities for its diverse student body, encouraging each trainee to explore a wide range of research fields in
their early years and identify those that most fully engage their individual passion. MBAS students will be required
to publish a first-author paper and graduate with a mean time to degree of 5.5 years. The curriculum will impart
broad conceptual knowledge, creative and critical thinking, mastery of experimental logic and methods,
application of computational and quantitative approaches, rigorous analysis and interpretation of results, clear
and fluent communication of findings, and incorporation of responsible, safe, and ethical practices. Students will
choose formally-trained mentors from a faculty of 75 nationally recognized leaders who represent a wide choice
of research areas and technical approaches, use state-of-the-art facilities, and work in an interactive, diverse
and collaborative environment. MBAS will provide training, oversight, and support for its participating faculty, and
will carefully monitor the progress of its trainees. Students will be well-supported with inclusive learning
communities, rigorous and clear expectations, expert advising, and a program design that accounts for
differences in preparation. Innovative training elements include new courses and enhanced content in
responsible conduct of research and reproducibility, quantitative biology and data science, lab safety, and
scientific writing. To further strengthen recruitment and retention, MBAS will mount initiatives to bolster diversity,
equity, inclusion, and belonging. New programs will be piloted and evaluated with the goal of scaling the most
successful of them to benefit all trainees within MCB. Professional skills development, experiential learning
opportunities, and career counseling will prepare trainees for research-related careers of their choos...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10878676
- **Project number:** 5T32GM148378-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** David Bilder
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,873,365
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10878676

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10878676, Molecular Biology Across Scales Training Program (5T32GM148378-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10878676. Licensed CC0.

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