# UCSF/UCB Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $814,296

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT
This proposal aims to secure training grant stipends and associated support for students
during their first two years in the UCSF/UC Berkeley Graduate Program in Bioengineering.
Over the past 31 years, the program in bioengineering has graduated a total of 357 Ph.D
students. This support is the backbone for the unique UCSF/UC Berkeley structure, which
requires that students have financial support during their first two years. These initial two
years of preparation include intensive course work in engineering and the biomedical
sciences, as well as three laboratory rotations, are essential to the students in selecting
appropriate dissertation research topics. In later year the students receive financial support
through their research mentor.
The UCSF/UC Berkeley Program in Bioengineering bridges two leading University of
California campuses that possess complementary strengths: UCSF is a leading Health
Sciences institution and UC Berkeley’s Engineering School is a national leader in the physical
sciences. The breadth and depth of the training environment offered to students is of an
order larger than a single department could provide. Our faculty are based in 22 departments
over two campuses and their laboratories include an array of state-of-the art facilities.
An academic and intellectual environment fosters seamless interaction between physical and
life sciences and that trains students to solve complex biological problems with an emphasis on
translational research is in high demand. The UCSF/UC Berkeley Graduate Program in
Bioengineering has an established record of such integration, and the breadth of opportunity
for collaboration is one of the reasons that the program is structured to have students spend
two years concentrating on a variety of laboratory rotations and course work prior to committing
to their dissertation project.
With the recent expansion of Bioengineering research and educational programs at UCSF
and UC Berkeley, the capacity for training graduate students has increased and the size of
the student body has grown to 176. This training grant is a critical component of the support
package that students are offered, and it has therefore become increasingly important for
ensuring that they flourish in the present competitive environment. Because qualified
applicants far exceed the number of students that can be admitted into the program, we are
requesting an increase in the number of slots during the next funding cycle from the current
recommended level of 17 students. The unique ability for bioengineers to integrate principles
from diverse fields and thereby span the gap between advances in basic science and clinical
utilization places individuals trained in this field at a critical point in advancing a translational
research agenda that has been recently highlighted by new organizations within the NIH.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9968310
- **Project number:** 5T32GM008155-36
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Tejal A. Desai
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $814,296
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-07-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9968310

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9968310, UCSF/UCB Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering (5T32GM008155-36). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9968310. Licensed CC0.

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