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University of Maine News |
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$2.6 Million NSF Grant Supports New Genomics PH.D. Program at UMaine, the Jackson Lab and MMCRI
January 16, 2003 ORONO-- With a $2.6 million five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), three Maine research organizations are poised to take a major step in genomics research and graduate education. The grant will allow the University of Maine, The Jackson Laboratory (TJL) and Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI) to establish an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in functional genomics. “Maine's academic and nonprofit research institutions are working together in some very progressive and innovative ways,” said Governor John Baldacci. “This grant builds on that success and will result in retaining and attracting some of the country's finest students to study in Maine.” The program, which is offered under UMaine’s Interdisciplinary Ph.D. umbrella, introduces a new graduate education paradigm that will prepare students for fundamental changes in the approach to the biological/biomedical sciences. The structure of the program also increases the level of interaction and cross-disciplinary collaboration among faculty members in the three institutions. Advances in DNA sequencing technology have provided the complete DNA sequence for entire genomes for a variety of organisms from bacteria and plants to animals, including humans, says Keith Hutchison, professor in the UMaine Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a co-investigator on the grant. However, having that information, he adds, is like having a book that we can only partially read. The study of functional genomics focuses on the interplay between genes and the biological machinery that enables an organism to live and reproduce. It involves further refinement of our understanding of genome “language” and of how that information is organized and used. The initiative is funded under an NSF program known as Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, or IGERT. The grant, which has been awarded to UMaine, is led by Barbara Knowles, associate director of TJL and director of research. Participating faculty come from UMaine, TJL and MMCRI. “This grant and a possible companion program now under consideration by the Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft of the German government, to support German graduate students in this international program, will combine to make a unique program of study,” says Knowles. “I envision that students from the U.S. or Germany will be able to study with internationally recognized scientists in either country. They will receive cross-disciplinary training, so that they can use the tools of physics, engineering, chemistry, genetics and genomics, as well as the computational sciences, to unravel the functions of individual genes and the interactions between them, to influence complex traits. This is a whole new way to think about training graduate students, and we in Maine are really excited to be at the crest of this wave.” Students will move through a core curriculum in the biological, computational and physical sciences. They will develop a research project drawn from the many possibilities at the three institutions. Instead of being closely guided by a single faculty member, as is done is in traditional graduate programs, students will work with a pair of scientists representing different disciplines. The student’s thesis research will likewise encompass experimental approaches from more than one discipline. The training grant will support up to fourteen students per year. A stipend of $21,500 per year plus tuition and fees will help the program compete for the very best graduate students in the country. NSF confirms that top students seek out such research opportunities, according to Hutchison. “This award serves as the foundation for a 'Research Triangle' between the three institutions and uses graduate education to reinforce the stability of the Triangle,” says Tom Maciag, director of the Center for Molecular Medicine at MMCRI and co-principal investigator on the IGERT application. “Furthermore, this award may also enable the development of new and exciting research collaborations within the 'Research Triangle' that may facilitate the submission of additional competitive research applications to funding agencies other than the NSF.” Questions in functional genomics cannot be answered by the biological sciences alone, says Hutchison. Students will develop skills in the physical and computational sciences and work to understand the relationship between genes and development. The benefits may apply widely in medicine, agriculture, the environment and other fields. Students will apply to the program through the Graduate School at the University of Maine. To receive support from the IGERT grant, they must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. Students who complete the program will receive an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree in functional genomics.
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