Nomination of Students for Training Program Support for 2009-2010

The NIH Training Grant in Biomolecular Technology was renewed for 5 more years (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2012). We hope to offer 6 NIH Fellowships in addition to 4-5 Biotechnology Fellowships for 2009-2010.

If you wish to nominate one of your pre-doctoral students (2nd-4th year) for support, please have your nominee complete the application form and sign the cover sheet. Please note that current fellows, who wish to continue, must be re-nominated for the coming year. Funding will be limited to two years. When making your nominations, please take the following into consideration:

1)       All nominees must be citizens or permanent visa residents of the United States.

2)       Active Participation in the Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology (DEB) graduate program is required before nomination.
All DEB students MUST complete MCB 263 (Biotechnology Fundamentals & Applications) before their qualifying exams.  The DEB student is required to complete the following coursework by the time of graduation:  MCB 263 (Biotechnology Fundamentals & Applications); MCB/ECH 294 (Current Progress in Biotechnology; minimum of 3 quarters); MCB 282 [a 3-6 month internship at a biotechnology company (*see the nomination form for preferred sites) or cross-college location]; and GGG296 (Scientific Integrity and Professionalism) or approved elective. For more information on the DEB, see www.deb.ucdavis.edu

  3)       If funded, the fellow must present his/her research at the Annual Biotechnology Training Retreat in March/April.

4)          It is essential that the nominees be those students who have the best prospects for becoming first-rate independent research scientists, regardless of their current or future means of support. Scholastic achievement, creativity and cross-disciplinary biomolecular research with a link to public health weigh heavily in the selection.  Collaborations between laboratories and crossing traditional boundaries are very important in the selection process. Publications between biology and physical science or engineering are strongly encouraged, especially for continued funding. All publications must cite the training grant (see DEB website for instructions)

5)       To be eligible for support, the student nominee must have entered their second, third or fourth year of training in the fall of 2009 (support only runs through the fourth year). For current recipients of a NIH or Biotech fellowship, a new nomination form is still required.  We will try to maintain funding for 2 years if good progress is being made.  Funding for a third year may be considered only in rare cases.

6)       A letter of recommendation on departmental letterhead with signature must accompany each application. A brief description should be included of your specific research interests and of your interests in biotechnology.

7)       In ranking nominees, academic proposal and/or research progress are highly valued as well as excellent GRE scores and graduate level GPA.

 8)      If you already have a collaborative relationship with industry, please refer to this in your submission.  Prior biotechnology company interaction is not a prerequisite for consideration of any nomination but it may facilitate placing fellows for their industrial internships.

 9)      If you wish your student to receive their company training with a specific trainer, please indicate this on your submission.

 10)     Please have your nominee(s) complete the enclosed form.  Your nominee should use the first person when describing and reporting progress of his/her project.

 11)      If you nominate more than one student for fellowship support, only one may be funded. Special consideration will be given to faculty trainers on the NIH Biotechnology Training Grant.

 12)      All students nominated for support will be evaluated by the NIH Biotechnology Training Program and the DEB Executive Committees.   Personal interviews may be necessary before final selections are made. Awards will be announced in early June.

            Please submit your nomination as soon as possible but no later than Wednesday, April 22, 2009 to Dr. Judith Kjelstrom, Director, UC Davis Biotechnology Program, 301 Life Sciences. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact her at 752-8228 (personal line) / 752-3260 (main desk) or jakjelstrom@ucdavis.edu.