Genomic Sciences Training Program

• Curriculum
• Financial Support
• GSTP Seminar Series
• Research Environment

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The Training Program

The Genomic Sciences Training Program (GSTP) is a new interdisciplinary predoctoral and postdoctoral training program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Human Genome Research Institute. Additional support is provided by the UW Graduate School and the Genome Center/Biotechnology Center.

The mission of the GSTP is to train the next generation of genomicists, enabling them to gain strengths to bridge multiple disciplines needed for an integrated approach to solving complex problems in genomics research. These disciplines include chemistry, engineering, computer science, biostatistics, genetics, biochemistry, molecular medicine, and molecular biology.

Predoctoral students who are eligible for this interdisciplinary training include those in Ph.D. programs in chemistry, genetics, computer sciences, statistics, biochemistry, engineering, or other computational and biological science disciplines. Currently, there are 36 different faculty trainers in 17 departments for students to choose from. All trainees will also have a secondary mentor from a complementary discipline.

Curriculum

As described in the application form for GSTP Predoctoral Traineeships:

GSTP trainees are expected to gain knowledge in the following areas:

· Biological Sciences
· Computational/Statistical Sciences
· Physical Sciences

The required and suggested courses in these three areas are listed below. Required courses are marked with an asterisk; the others represent some of the elective courses that will be useful for many of the trainees. The GSTP Trainee Advisory Committee will review each trainee's course curriculum and expects that approximately three courses will be taken to fulfill the core curriculum of GSTP. Courses taken as an undergraduate can be used, pending approval, to satisfy the GSTP course requirements. Substitutions can be made with the approval of the GSTP Trainee Advisory Committee. Courses taken can count for both the Ph. D. Minor, which typically involves four courses taken outside of one’s home department, and for the GSTP requirements.

These courses will be required of all GSTP trainees receiving three-year fellowships, and a subset will be required for trainees awarded fewer years of support. Students will also be required to participate in a weekly GSTP seminar for the duration of their fellowship and in a one semester Scientific Ethics course (BacT or Chem 901).

• Genomic Science (Chem 630), Spring 2004; see below for schedule

• Introduction to Bioinformatics (Biostatistics and Medical Informatics 576)

• Advanced Bioinformatics (Biostatistics and Medical Informatics 776)
  - or -
  Statistical Methods for Bioscience I (Statistics 571)
• Statistical Methods in Genomics (Statistics 692)
• Comparative Microbial Genomics (AHABS 375/875)
• Human Genetics (Genetics 565)
• Modeling Biological Processes (Chemical Engineering 562)
• Sequence Analysis and Laboratory (Biochemistry 711 and 712)

Genomic Science
Chem (224) - 630
Selected Topics in Analytical Chemistry
Call No. 25674, Section 3
Tu, Th. 1:20 p.m., Rm. 8335 Chem.
Instructor: D. Schwartz

GSTP Seminar Series

The Genomic Sciences Training Program seminar series provides an opportunity for fellow trainees to describe and discuss their research. These seminars, plus presentations from other speakers from academics or the private sector, expose students to new research advances within and outside their area of expertise and allows participants the opportunity to meet with other interested colleagues.

See schedule...

Financial Support

Support for 8 predoctoral, 6 postdoctoral, and 4 short-tem research trainees is provided by a grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Predoctoral traineeships are generally awarded for a three-year period, and postdoctoral traineeships are generally awarded for a two to three-year period. Short-term training positions are available for graduate students enrolled in a Ph.D. program and trained in physical or computational sciences who wish to spend three to six months in a molecular biology laboratory in order to get acquainted with the field. We welcome applications from qualified women and minority group members for traineeships.

For NHGRI support, predoctoral students must be accepted into an affiliated Ph.D. program. All supported trainees must be permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Information about individual graduate programs can be obtained from the relevant biological and computational departments or from the Genomic Sciences Training Program by contacting:

Research Environment

The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranks among the nation's top universities. It ranks first in the U.S. among public universities in the amount of research and development funds received from all sources, and first in the U.S. among all universities in the amount of funds received from non-military sources. Its faculty and former faculty include 17 Nobel Laureates, 50 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 8 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 10 National Medals of Science. The UW-Madison has one of the largest university biological research communities in the world, with more than 700 faculty, 1,500 academic staff, 700 postdoctoral fellows, 2,500 graduate students, and thousands of undergraduates. Relevant departments at the UWMadison that rank among the top few in the country include Bacteriology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Biomolecular Chemistry, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Oncology and Statistics with Biostatistics and Medical Informatics. In addition, the UW-Madison houses a number of internationally recognized research centers and facilities, including the Genome Center, the Biotechnology Center, Microscopy facilities portal, Laboratory for Optical and Computational Instrumentation , Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility, Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) on Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale, the Center for NanoTechnology, the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics, the UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, and the Biotron.

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