Training programs
Cellular & Molecular Basis of Disease Training Program
Robert Holmgren, Director
The training program in the cellular and molecular biology basis of disease brings together students and faculty from the IBiS, IGP, NUIN and MSTP graduate programs on the Evanston and Chicago campuses. Selection of students for the training program is competitive, and is based on student performance as an undergraduate and as a graduate student. To be selected to the training program, students must have completed the course work requirements of one of Northwestern’s three life sciences programs, including a scientific ethics course, and be in good standing with the program. Appointments are typically made in Spring Quarter of the second year of graduate studies. The training program provides students with the opportunity to invite and host scientists from other institutions for a seminar visit; organize symposia on current topics in cell and molecular biology; and participate in informal dinner/discussions with industry representatives, administrators, writers, and others with informative and interesting perspectives on science. All trainees participate in a monthly “Research in Progress” series. The training grant also provides funds for students to present their work at national and international meetings or to participate in collaborative research at other institutions. The program includes 90 faculty preceptors, and supports 18 predoctoral students each year.
Biotechnology Training Program
Lonnie Shea, Director
The NIH/NIGMS Biotechnology Training Program is an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental program which provides a select group of predoctoral students greater research and training opportunities than those which are available through the individual departments. It is intended to promote a more effective interdisciplinary education in biotechnology, to enhance the research programs of and interaction among those Northwestern University faculty and students with interests in biotechnology, and to provide a more systematic exposure of students to industrial biotechnology research. Students trained through this program will be more effectively prepared to enter the biotechnology industry or become leaders of academic and governmental biotechnology research. The novel aspects of this program include: an interdisciplinary education, close collaborative efforts among participating faculty and students from various disciplines, a systematic exposure to industrial biotechnology through student research internships in biotechnology industries and access to a variety of advanced topic and specialized courses.
Training Program in Reproductive Biology
Kelly Mayo, Director
The Reproductive Biology Training Program is administered by Reproductive Biologists housed in five University departments: Neurobiology and Molecular Biosciences on the Evanston Campus; and Cell and Molecular Biology, Physiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Center for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine on the Chicago Campus.
Trainees choose primarily one area of research concentration, but interdisciplinary research is strongly encouraged. Specific research areas include: sperm surface polarity; testicular biochemistry and immunochemistry of LDH-X; molecular mechanisms of FSH and LH actions in follicles and corpora lutea; regulation of glycoprotein hormone gene expression; regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide synthesis and secretion; molecular biology of the prolactin family; molecular endocrinology; pituitary hormone secretion and gonadal feedback; photoperiod and biological rhythms, including reproduction. Techniques available to trainees include hormone radio-immunoassays, receptor assays, in vitro cell and tissue culture, molecular approaches, peptide biochemistry in vivo hormone and neurotransmitter sampling and measurement techniques, and histological methods, such as in situhybridization and immunocytochemistry.
Molecular Biophysics Training Program
Ishwar Radhakrishnan, Director
The Molecular Biophysics Training Program supports research and education at the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics. The program brings together students and faculty from several departments on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. The program sponsors advanced and special topics courses in diverse areas in molecular biophysics; and it sponsors the Molecular Biophysics Club, a forum at which graduate students and postdoctoral fellows present talks on their research to the entire molecular biophysics community of students, postdocs, and faculty. Trainees of the program invite and host several distinguished visiting faculty from other institutions each year. The program also provides funds for Trainees to present their work at national or international meetings.
Students are appointed to the Molecular Biophysics Training Program at the end of their second year. Selection of students to the program is competitive, emphasizing the students’ research accomplishments as well as their academic records. To be eligible for the program, students must complete the course requirements of IBiS, IGP, or the Chemistry Department, including (or supplemented with) appropriate courses in molecular biophysics.
Training Program in Oncogenesis & Developmental Biology
Richard Carthew, Director
This program includes faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from Evanston, Northwestern University Medical School and Children’s Hospital. Its goal is to provide training at the interface between developmental biology and cancer biology. Trainees are selected based upon their academic records and performance in the lab. The program is associated with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, which sponsors numerous colloquia on all three campuses. These colloquia provide a broad intellectual framework for each trainee’s research. The program provides support for trainees to present their results at national and international meetings and for seminars on the three campuses. In addition, members of the program organize a yearly one-day retreat with research presentations and a keynote seminar from a leader in developmental biology and oncogenesis.
Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences (CLIMB)
Rick McGee, Director
The CLIMB Program guides a select, diverse group of bioscience PhD students at Northwestern University to develop advanced skills for collaborating, communicating, mentoring and conducting research across disciplines, and accelerate their professional development. This will be accomplished through a two-year complement to their training in their primary PhD programs. Supported by NIGMS IMSD.
Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)
Dane Chetkovich, Director
The Medical School and The Graduate School give a select number of students the opportunity to embark on an exceptionally rewarding and challenging career path. By enrolling in the combined degree program leading to the MD and PhD degrees, students can expect to become better scientists for their clinical experience while bringing a physician’s perspective to their research. The University participates in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) established by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the U.S. Public Health Service. The Northwestern MSTP prepares qualified students for careers in biomedical research or academic medicine, as well as clinical practice.
For highly motivated students with superior research and academic potential, this flexible, seven- to eight-year-long program offers expedient, complementary training in both medicine and science. Students develop the PhD research component individually, in consultation with faculty advisers and researchers on both campuses, drawing mainly from investigations being conducted in the life sciences.
