# Training in Molecular Physics of Biological Systems

> **NIH NIH T32** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $381,989

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This renewal proposal supports the maintenance of Cornell’s long standing and successful Molecular
Biophysics Training Grant Program. This program provides vigorous interdisciplinary training
merging the fields of physical and biological sciences. The program, now in its twenty-seventh year,
continues to advance the training of our most motivated and well-qualified students by focusing
their graduate academic work around a core curriculum and creating an engaging, cohesive
community. The trainees may have undergraduate degrees in either the physical or biological
sciences and must have been admitted to the Graduate School at Cornell for training leading to the
Ph.D. in a Graduate Field of one the thirty-one participating faculty members who span nine
departments, seventeen fields, and four Colleges. All participating faculty are associated with
Cornell’s well established and continuously growing Biophysics Program, and have well-funded
quality research programs either in physics with strong biological applications or in biology with
strong physical connections. The overall research interests of the faculty are broadly distributed and
include: structure and function of proteins and other macromolecules using theoretical approaches,
synchrotron X-ray crystallography, electron spin resonance spectroscopy, and multidimensional
NMR; single molecule studies of dynamics of molecular motors; structures and molecular
mechanisms of cell membranes, receptors, and neurotransmitters and associated cellular functions;
materials and technology developments including nonlinear laser microscopy, steady-state and time
resolved spectroscopy and imaging, single channel recording, nanophotonic optical tweezers, and
nanofabrication. Through collaborations and University center facilities, Cornell offers bountiful
opportunities for innovation and creative research. The program supports 11 trainees each year, with
each individual supported for a maximum of three years. Trainees undertake interdisciplinary
studies with advanced courses in mathematics, quantum mechanics, statistical thermodynamics,
biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, computation and instrumentation, and other special topics.
In addition, students participate in multiple program functions including a weekly Biophysics
Colloquium, Summer Student Seminar Series, a yearly campus-wide Biophysics Symposium, and a
yearly campus-wide Responsible Conduct of Research Symposium. These activities serve to provide
a strong, unified program identity within the broad interdisciplinary structure of the program.
Thesis research and collaborations in the laboratories of the participating faculty complete
preparation for a career of teaching and research in molecular biophysics. Through these
experiences, trainees gain exposure to, and experience in, interdisciplinary biomedical research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9964837
- **Project number:** 5T32GM008267-32
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHELLE D. WANG
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $381,989
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1988-09-30 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9964837

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9964837, Training in Molecular Physics of Biological Systems (5T32GM008267-32). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9964837. Licensed CC0.

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