DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the NIGMS-sponsored Systems and Integrative Biology (SIB) training program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine (COM) is to educate an elite set of graduate students in interdisciplinary approaches to basic and translational research. The program explores mechanisms of cellular and complex organ systems, how their disruption leads to disease, and how the integration of approaches in basic and medical sciences can lead to new discoveries that impact human health. It is coordinated with the broader COM effort within our medical center to generate discoveries that improve people's lives through innovation in education and research. Our objective is to provide predoctoral trainees with an interdisciplinary curriculum that maintains high standards of intellectual rigor, fosters creativity and passion for research, and provides research opportunitie with selected faculty that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. The SIB program was designed to be an integral component of the larger Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (IBGP), our parent Ph.D. training program that provides high quality training opportunities to prepare our IBGP and MSTP graduates for successful careers in biomedical research. We are requesting funds for training ten SIB predoctoral students per year, including five newly chosen trainees who have completed their first year in the IBGP core curriculum and five trainees who have completed one year in the SIB program and who compete for a year renewal. Coursework, seminars, laboratory rotations, grant-writing, training in the responsible conduct of research, and a focus in one of eleven areas-of-research emphasis with a vetted faculty member are the mechanisms by which the SIB program provides collaborative and interdisciplinary training opportunities. Faculty in the SIB program are leading basic biomedical science researchers who are committed to student education and training, and who embrace the vision of diversity and cooperation in our academic research community. The SIB program provides exclusive scholarly, career development and social activities for the SIB trainees to strengthen their ability to become the leaders of tomorrow in biomedical science research. We are also committed to maintaining geographic and ethnic diversity in our program through targeted recruitment and retention. In summary, the SIB training program will impart the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills to enable trainees to embrace our research mission and position themselves as leaders in a wide range of biomedical science careers.

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The SIB training program is a flagship graduate opportunity for exceptional students within the OSU COM Integrated Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program that trains students to investigate human diseases by integrating multiple biomedical science disciplines to solve complex biological problems and make discoveries to improve human health.