Courses

Trainees gain knowledge in lipids and membranes with two principle courses focusing on the biochemistry, biophysics and cell biology of lipids and membranes, which is complemented by formal course work on infectious diseases. Trainees also take a grant writing course, where students participate in an active learning style venue to gain feedback in a collaborative setting on development of a NIH F31 style proposal.

To meet the research and education goals of the Drug Discovery in Infectious Disease (I3D) Training program, trainees complete a capstone project by choosing three of a possible five focus areas of membrane/lipid related areas of expertise. Additionally, students build teamwork, critical thinking and data analysis skills in a year-long capstone project with the other trainees.

Grant Writing Course

Students must take MCMP625 (most do already) on grant writing. This course teaches how to write a NIH F31 proposal in a step wise fashion (specific aims, significance, innovation, etc.), uses an active learning component (active feedback in small groups on proposals (from specific aims to detailed aims) for students to get feedback and revise their proposal for final submission and study section assignment. Students learn how a study section operates and are assigned to a study section and review other student's proposals.

Rigor and Responsibility Training

Trainees must take a statistics course such as STAT 511 - Statistical Methods or STAT 503 - Statistical Methods for Biology. STAT 511 is a 3 credit course that covers applied statistics and is taken by trainees in engineering and physical sciences. STAT 503 is a 3 credit class that offers extensive coverage of statistical methods, with all examples and applications drawn from the life, health, and agricultural sciences. Many students will take one of these course in their first year of graduate school (from the respective graduate programs).

Membranes: Structure and Function

CHEM 63200 will investigate the physical, chemical, and biological properties of lipids and biological membranes, membrane-protein interactions, the role of membranes in regulating information flow (with emphasis on signal transduction pathways), and experimental approaches used in studying the membrane and integral membrane proteins. This course is composed of lectures, background reading materials, and student-led discussions of articles from the primary literature. Students will learn the challenges associated with studying lipids and lipid-dependent structures and events in the cell, lipid–protein interactions and their physiological roles, and current experimental techniques available to address these challenges.

Infectious Disease Course (choice of course)

Since our trainees are involved differing aspects of infectious diseases they should take a course to complement their research track (existing virology, parasitology, microbiology are three possibilities).

BIOL 662 and GRAD 612

Prior to joining the I3D, students must complete the online CITI Basic RCR tutorial covering Biomedical Research or Physical Science, whichever is most appropriate for their laboratory. Our trainees will take formal instruction in RCR every four years. If not taken the first semester of graduate school as required by many programs, I3D trainees will take BIOL 662 in their first semester of appointment to I3D, and then GRAD 612 as a refresher course in either their 4th or 5th years, accordingly.

Trainees will also take at least one online RCR module provided by the Purdue Graduate School each year. Other elements of RCR are built into I3D activities.