NIH T32 Interdisciplinary Training Program in Skin Biology
NIH T32 Interdisciplinary Training Program in Skin Biology
Applications for the next cohort will be due Summer 2024
Postdoctoral Applications will be due Friday, May 31, 2024 by 5:00 PM
What is NIH?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency for making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. NIH funds awards made to institutions to support groups of pre- and/or postdoctoral fellows, including trainees in basic, clinical, and behavioral research. Ensures that a diverse and highly trained workforce is available to assume leadership roles in biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research.
The Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center (SCRC)
The SCRC consists of more than 60+ science faculty across the campus who can mentor CIRM Scholars; more mentors will be added in the next years. Activities within the SCRC include basic and translational stem cell research using multidisciplinary approaches, such as cell biology, genomics, computational biology, bioengineering, pre-clinical development, and clinical applications/practice. Faculty members have taken a bench-to-bedside path to various preclinical and clinical development stages.
Our mentors have all had Implicit Bias and Culturally Aware Mentorship training. Activities within the Center Faculty are also engaged in understanding the stem cell field in the wider context of health disparities and ethics fostering the capability of Scholars to act as ambassadors for stem cell and regenerative medicine field in society at large. There are training and research opportunities across a wide range of topics including new cell sorting and manufacturing methods, biomaterials to control cellular development, 3D cell culture and fused organoids, health disparities, bioethics, and upcoming trials for retinal repair, brain injury, stroke, ALS, and Huntington’s disease.
About the NIH T32 Skin Training Program
The new interdisciplinary skin biology training program at the University of California, Irvine builds on a strong group of skin biology mentors affiliated with a NIAMS-funded Skin Biology and Disease Research Core Center (UCI Skin). The goal is to develop skin biologists that will be highly skilled in integrating bioengineering, including imaging, and computation into their research to make discoveries in skin biology. The four trainees will be a mixture of graduate students (three slots), including MD-PhD students, and postdoctoral fellows (one slot), including dermatology residents pursuing postgraduate research training. The mentors include several investigators whose work focuses on skin biology and collaborating investigators from other scientific disciplines. Each trainee–irrespective of whether the primary mentor is a skin biologist or from an allied field–will pursue an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of skin biology and one of two cross-disciplines: systems biology or bioengineering/imaging. In their research activities, the trainees will be guided through dual mentoring by a skin biologist and a mentor from a complementary field. In addition to laboratory-based research training, the program includes lectures in skin biology and skin diseases, a weekly Skin Club for data presentations, seminar series, retreats and a yearly symposium. The program also offers a menu of career development activities that can be individually tailored to each trainee based on their interests and career goals.
Requirements for NIH T32 Trainee Nominations
We request nominations for pre-doctoral students to be supported from the T32 Interdisciplinary Training Program in Skin Biology, NIH T32 AR080622. We expect to appoint 1-2 predoctoral students, starting October 2024. Nominations for additional students and a postdoctoral trainee will be issued next year.
Trainees must be committed to interdisciplinary research in skin biology, incorporating approaches from other fields such as bioengineering, imaging, and computational biology. Trainees must be willing to accept the curricular obligations of the program, which includes courses in basic skin biology and skin diseases. Trainees will begin the program with an Individual Development Plan tailored to their specific training needs. Faculty mentors of each trainee must also commit to participating fully in training activities. Each trainee will have basic science research mentors in skin biology and a collaborative field, as well as a clinical dermatology mentor with expertise relevant to the trainee’s research area. Nominees need to US citizens or have permanent residency in the US.
Pre-doctoral nominees must be PhD students who have completed at least two years of graduate studies by July 2024. Students starting their third year will have priority in this call. Appointments will be for a two-year period.
Required Application Documents
- A letter of nomination from the primary mentor, evaluating the candidate’s experience and qualifications, and explaining the nature of the proposed research and training experience. The letter should include a statement that the mentor is willing to participate actively in the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Skin Biology, and that they understand that failure of trainee or mentor to participate fully may lead to exclusion from the training program and withdrawal of further funding.
- Current biosketches (candidate and primary mentor, NIH format).
- Statement of research interests and career plan for the candidate (less than one page). The statement should confirm that the candidate is willing to take the required formal courses as soon as they are next offered, and to participate in the required activities including Skin Club and the Skin Center seminar series.
- Research project plan (one-page limit, including an abstract of less than 150 words)
- The primary mentor’s current and pending research funding (NIH format)
- Completed program application form – Click the “Apply Now” icon below to access the online application.
We will confirm our cohort of T32 Trainees for program appointment start in October 2024.
Applications for the next cohort will be due Summer 2024
Required Postdoctoral Application Documents:
- A letter of nomination from the primary mentor, evaluating the candidate’s experience and qualifications, and explaining the nature of the proposed research and training experience. The letter should include a statement that the mentor is willing to participate actively in the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Skin Biology, and that they understand that failure of trainee or mentor to participate fully may lead to exclusion from the training program and withdrawal of further funding.
- Current biosketches (candidate and primary mentor, NIH format).
- Statement of research interests and career plan for the candidate (less than one page). The statement should confirm that the candidate is willing to take the required formal courses as soon as they are next offered, and to participate in the required activities including Skin Club and the Skin Center seminar series.
- Research project plan (one-page limit, including an abstract of less than 150 words)
- The primary mentor’s current and pending research funding (NIH format)
* Nominations for additional predoctoral students will be issued next year (2025).
Postdoctoral Applications will be due Friday, May 31, 2024 by 5:00 PM
For questions and assistance please contact Abbie Enriquez at abbiee@hs.uci.edu.
Program-related questions can be sent to Dr. Bogi Andersen (bogi@hs.uci.edu) or Dr. Anand Ganesan (aganesan@hs.uci.edu).