Program requirements

Trainees must be registered for all quarters supported by the Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program.

Autumn, Winter and Spring Quarter: 10 credits or more
Summer Quarter: 2 credits only

Trainees must fulfill the following course requirements.  If the course requirements have not been met prior to starting in the training program, the trainee must fulfill this requirement in their first year in the program.  Required courses must be taken for a grade. Trainees may petition the Program Director to substitute alternate courses from this list.

REQUIRED COURSES

Each trainee is required to complete 2 of the following courses:

• Biochem 530: Introduction to Structural Biology
• Conjoint 526: Introduction to Systems Biology.
• Conjoint 532: Signal Transduction from the Cell Membrane to the Nucleus
• Conjoint 537: Mechanism of Transcriptional Regulation
• Conjoint 542: Cell Biology of Development
• Genome 553: Advanced Genetic Analysis
• Immun 537: Immunological Methods
• Micro 553: Molecular Interactions of Bacteria with their Hosts
• MCB 539: Biological Basis of Neoplasia
• Neuro 504: Biophysics of Nerve, Muscle, and Synapse

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Each trainee is required to complete 1 course is quantitative analysis. The following courses meet this requirement:

• BIOL 519: Data Science for Biologists
• CONJ 526: Introduction to Systems Biology
• NEURO 545: Quantitative Methods in Neuroscience
• UCONJ 510: Introductory Laboratory Based Biostatistics
• GENOME 560: Introduction to Statistical Genomics
• MCB 517: Tools for Computational Biology

Trainees must attend the monthly student meetings, held once per month from October to May. Students learn to present their research to a diverse audience.

Trainees must attend the scientific writing courses offered in the Spring that includes information on writing the progress report. An optional series of grant-writing workshops is offered for those interested in submitting a predoctoral NRSA proposal.  These courses will be taught by CMB Directors or CMB faculty.

During the Spring quarter, a 1-day retreat is held for trainees, advisors, and other faculty and students interested in the program. In a relaxed setting, trainees have the opportunity to present their research, and learn about the work of other students. Students in their final year of support give talks on their research; other students give poster presentations. All students submit abstracts of their research projects for the printed program.

Trainees are required to attend 3 of 6 Rigor and Reproducibility Workshops, held bimonthly throughout the year

Each summer the UW School of Medicine sponsors the Biomedical Integrity Lecture Series. Videotapes of the lecture series are available at the Health Sciences Library if a lecture is missed. Trainees are required to attend 5 lectures and 3 small group discussions. Lectures and discussion groups attended before the appointment on the TG count towards this requirement. Students should make a note of the lectures they attend, as they will need to include the dates in their yearly progress report.

We expect that students supported by the CMBTG will have multiple publications from their dissertation work. It is important that trainees acknowledge support received from the training grant when they publish a manuscript on research begun OR completed during their appointment.

“(This investigation or your name/initials) was supported in part by Public Health Service, National Research Service Award, T32GM007270, from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.”

Or abbreviate:

“(This investigation or your name/initials) was supported in part by PHS NRSA T32GM007270 from NIGMS.”

Please email citations of all publications (including abstracts, book chapters, and journal articles) to the MCB Office. Do not email references in progress; wait until publication. Include PMCID (if available), PMID or NIHMS number.

Continued support by the Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program is contingent upon maintaining progress considered satisfactory for trainees. During Spring Quarter each year, trainees will submit a report describing their progress. A faculty committee with a representative from each participating department will evaluate each trainee’s academic and research progress. The trainee and advisor will be notified of the committee’s recommendations and will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns with the Evaluation Committee members.

Mentors are required to attend the Annual Training Program Retreat. In addition, mentors are required to actively participate in CMB activities during the period of funding. These include serving on program committees (Selection, Evaluation, Advisory), teaching in program courses, or contributing to the BRI series. Continued funding for the trainee is contingent upon active participation by the mentor.