Biotech training grant funds interdisciplinary
research
Electrical engineering graduate student Dongliang Yin and Professor
Holger Schmidt were awarded a major training grant for optical
studies of biological molecules. Their grant is one of 11 new
training grants awarded by the UC Systemwide Biotechnology Research
and Education Program to support innovative research at the
cutting edge of biotechnology.
The $50,000-per-year Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive
bioTechnology (GREAT) training grants are among the highest
individual awards given for graduate education and training
anywhere in the nation. They will fund cross-disciplinary biotechnology-related
research into such areas as stem cells, protein mapping, and
cell-membrane modeling.
"Rapid advancements in technology are catalyzed by providing
an environment to nurture diverse fields of study," said
Martina Newell McGloughlin, director of the UC systemwide biotechnology
program, headquartered at UC Davis. "Examples are found
in the areas of nanotechnology and modeling of biological materials."
Grant recipients were selected according to their demonstrated
ability to understand and solve problems that cross varied disciplines.
The GREAT program, developed two years ago, supports the training
of the brightest young UC graduate students in theoretical and
experimental research at the interface between the life sciences
and the physical, chemical, engineering, mathematical, and computational
sciences.
This year's awards bring the total number of GREAT training
grants to 22. Of the 10 UC campuses, all but the newly opened
Merced campus have received one or more of these grants.
The GREAT program is intended to foster and support meritorious
research in biotechnology; enhance training for students and
postdoctoral fellows; and inform government, industry, and the
public about developments in biotechnology and their impact
in the public arena.
"Our program is committed to support novel research and
training, and to educating students and the public about the
exciting promise and potential of biotechnology," McGloughlin
said. "We promote open and factual discussions on scientific
research as it applies to biotechnology and make ourselves available
to the public, other institutions, and government officials
to answer questions."
Email this story
Printer-friendly version
Return to Front Page