Summer Workshop Experience

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The interface between molecular biology and chemistry is developing at a rapid pace, and we have recently requested funds (in our renewal for the CBI program) which will add a distinctive aspect of the CBI program, one that will allow trainees a unique research experience at the cutting-edge of this field. In the spring of their second year, our best CBI trainees will be encouraged to apply for admission into one of the classes offered by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories (CSHL) or by other equivalent organizations. The CSHL currently offer 23 two-week summer courses, including e.g. Advanced Bacterial Genetics, Yeast Genetic and Genomics, Eukaryotic Gene Expression, Systems Biology, Proteomics, Genomics, Regulatory RNA, Peptides and Phage Display, among others. CSHL courses are world-renown for providing advanced practical training in different topics at the cutting-edge of molecular cell biology; their courses combine classroom instruction with hands-on training in laboratory methods. Our justification for having our CBI trainees take one of these courses is that we cannot provide an equivalent experience at Texas A&M University. Similar statements would apply to virtually every Ph.D granting university in the country. The goal of our training at TAMU is to provide a solid research experience at one interface between chemistry and molecular biology (essentially defined by the Trainer's research program). This summer workshop course would allow our students to gain hands-on laboratory experience on a different topic. Such a course would broaden the student's training and in directions that are apt to be useful for them in their future research. For example, students might be able to secure a particularly coveted post-doctoral or faculty position more easily by having taken one of these CSHL courses. In addition, there are numerous social interactions associated with the CSHL experience in which the CBI trainees would develop contacts which would be helpful in their career development.

With the consent of their research advisor, CBI students would be allowed to apply for any one of the courses that are offered. CBI will sponsor our students to attend one of these courses using funds provided by TAMU. They would need to apply ~3 months prior to when the course is offered. The CBI director has discussed this with David J. Stewart, executive director of the CSHL courses. Acceptance into these courses is challenging, and not every CBI student who applies is likely to be accepted. Applicants require a background in basic biochemistry and genetics, they should have already authored a primary research publication, and they should require to use the technique covered in the course in their research. After assessing their level of achievement, the Steering committee and the primary research advisor will recommend whether or not each individual CBI student is ready to apply. Our stronger students will apply in the spring of their second year, while other trainees will apply the spring of their third year. We have also identified other comparable courses (in which both lecture and laboratory instruction are given on a cutting-edge topic in an intense fashion), and students could apply to these as well. These include Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, the Jackson Laboratory, EMBL, EMBO, and the Wellcome Trust Advanced Courses in the UK. The American Chemical Society also offers more chemically-oriented "short courses." If students identify other comparable experiences, he/she may appeal to the steering committee for approval to apply to these.