The Training Program

The NIH Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics (SBTG) pre-doctoral training program is soliciting applications for appointments beginning September 1, 2020 and running through August 31, 2021.This training program 

1. Provides students with exposure to leading developments in the various fields comprising Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
2. Provides the students with ample opportunity to develop presentation skills; develop analytical strategies for evaluation of the literature in this field;
3. Through presentations by authoritative speakers the program exposes students to traditional and non-traditional career paths in Structural Biology & Molecular Biophysics
4. Subsidizes travel by students to major meetings of the field.  Mentors will be required to support travel by the trainee to a national meeting relevant to the training program. The training program and the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics will provide funds to subsidize travel. 

The trainees meet with training faculty and outside speakers during an extended luncheon held monthly. The past schedules can be found on the BMB website: https://www.med.upenn.edu/sbmbt32/administrative-structure.html

Eligibility

The program supports 3rd year Ph.D. students and 4th year for combined degree students for one year. Applications are now being accepted from rising 3rd year Ph.D students or rising 4th year combined degree students only for appointment to the 2020-2021 year of the training program.

Preference will be given to students who attended the 2019-2020 pre-award meetings. Students who have not taken BMB 508 will be required to take this core course concurrently with an appointment to the training program. 

Application Procedure

The following documents should be sent to the SBMB training grant coordinator, Kelli McKenna, via email. Please fill out the cover sheet on the next page and assemble all required documents into a single PDF document:

1. Cover Sheet (attached here)
2. CV. This should include undergraduate GPA and any honors, awards, publications etc.
3. Copy of your UPenn Graduate School transcript. Contact the coordinator of your graduate group to obtain this. 
4. A document describing the student’s research, how the research is appropriate for this Training Grant, and statement of their commitment to/interest in TG, and commitment to attend/partake in all Training Grant activities.  Two pages maximum.

The applicant should also arrange for the Ph.D. advisor to send 1) A letter of recommendation. 2) their biosketch in NIH format,directly to the SBMB training grant coordinator, Kelli McKenna

Deadline

12 pm, Friday June 19, 2020.

Applications will be evaluated by a small group of trainers and appointments announced in early July. The start date for appointments will be September 1, 2019.