Quantitative Cell Biology Graduate Program

The Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling (CCAM) is offering a new, cross-disciplinary training program in Quantitative Cell Biology (QCB). The program is made possible by a $12.3M federal grant from the National Institutes of Health as part of the agency’s Roadmap for Medical Research, which supports multidisciplinary projects to accelerate progress in medical research. The Health Center is one of just five National Technology Centers for Networks and Pathways in the country.

The QCB program specifically targets students with backgrounds in mathematical or physical sciences, providing a rigorous cross-disciplinary training in quantitative cell biology to those students and to interested students with more conventional biology backgrounds. The program includes Ph. D. students in both the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the BioMedical Engineering Ph.D. program administered at the University of Connecticut main campus at Storrs. Faculty associated with the program engage in a broad spectrum of research in mathematical and theoretical biology, biophotonics, biocomputing and informatics, and molecular cell biology.

Admission

Prospective students may apply to the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Science at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

The application deadline is December 15th. Quantitative Cell Biology should be indicated as the area of interest on the application. Individuals interested in this program should also submit a letter of interest in the QCB program to:

Dr. Les Loew
Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling
263 Farmington Avenue
University of Connecticut Health Center Farmington, CT 06030-1507
Email: les@volt.uchc.edu

Or contact individual program faculty directly.

Program Description

Course work in the Quantitative Cell Biology predoctoral program is specifically tailored to the needs of the individual students based on their backgrounds, and includes core didactic courses in biology, in addition to cross-training in mathematical modeling, computational techniques, and courses in biophysical/imaging techniques. We are currently developing a modular, multidisciplinary curriculum that will include a series of short, 2 to 3 week courses in faculty specialties that will be tightly focused on a given topic. In addition, the CCAM Modeling Laboratory, which serves as an intellectual home to trainees primarily interested in mathematical modeling, organizes course modules in biophysics and mathematical modeling. Working with their thesis advisor, students can tailor short course selections to meet their individual needs, both in terms of deficiencies and in terms of specialized interests. This novel approach to the didactic portion of graduate training allows will allow the student to meet the seemingly conflicting pressures of obtaining a broad exposure to needed skills and knowledge while still acquiring depth in a particular specialty. Modules will be scheduled so as to maximize opportunities for the students to take valuable courses offered in the traditional curricula and avoid conflicts with concurrent modules.

Courses available to trainees include within the traditional curricula several recently developed courses in computational and/or biophysical methods that complement the traditional biology courses at the UConn Health Center. Examples include:

• Computational Cell Biology for Biomedical Engineers; Mathematical Modeling, Introduction to Mathematical Biophysics
• Computational Neuroscience
• Bioinformatics
• Practical Applications in Sequence Analysis Biophotonics
• Cell Biology II: From Experiment to Model ( taught concurrently with Cell Biology I)
• Biochemistry II: Biophysical Techniques (taught concurrently with Biochemistry I)

First year students undergo two laboratory rotations, at least one of which is in a cross-disciplinary laboratory (e.g., for students with biology backgrounds, at least one rotation project will include either mathematical modeling or optical engineering). A Preliminary Examination, in the form of a grant proposal written in the students’ thesis research area is given in the second year. Once the Preliminary Examination has been successfully completed, trainees become fully committed to their thesis research.