CMB Training Program
Overview
Training Program
Frequently Asked Questions
For over 35 years, the Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB) Training Program at the University of Virginia (UVA) has been cultivating future STEM leaders. Our trainees not only excel in research but also go on to fill a wide range of critical roles across the American STEM workforce. UVA offers a dynamic graduate program in the biomedical sciences, where Ph.D. students begin their training through a unified, interdisciplinary curriculum in their first year. After selecting a research lab at the end of that year, students continue with specialized training tailored by their chosen department, ensuring both breadth and depth in their scientific education.
The CMB Program concentrates on the second, third and fourth years of training when students are embarking on their journey of becoming independent research scientists. A key objective of the program is to complement the specialized, department-based training with broad exposure to the diverse approaches and cutting-edge techniques used across the biomedical sciences. To support this, the program offers a comprehensive array of classes, workshops, retreats, and monthly meetings designed to equip trainees with the essential skills and resources for a productive and enriching research experience.
Central to our mission is the fact that CMB is a vibrant and continuously evolving program that works with students and faculty to build on our current strengths, identify new areas of focus and develop mechanisms to address our perceived weaknesses.
Our overarching goal is to develop PhD scientists that combine outstanding laboratory experiences with strong communication skills and broad interests the biomedical sciences. We feel these are the essential elements to develop scientists that will have a love of science and the tools for lifelong learning in a STEM field.
Training Program
Frequently Asked QuestionsApplication Process
Students apply for admission through one of the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs and are selected for the CMB program after the first year of graduate school. Apply here: Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs
The School of Medicine (SOM), of which the program is a part, has an application deadline of December 1st, and openings to the program are usually filled by mid-April. Therefore, early application is essential to ensure consideration.
The University of Virginia strictly adheres to it non-discrimination policy in admitting students to educational programs.
- Trainees are funded during their second and third years of graduate study.
- Each spring, new trainees are selected through a competitive review based on academic excellence and research potential. A call for applications is distributed via email to eligible students in the CMB umbrella program and in affiliated graduate programs. Applications must include academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a statement of commitment from both the student and their thesis advisor confirming participation in all training grant activities.
- To be considered for selection, applicants should meet the following criteria:
- Completed or planned enrollment in Mandatory courses.
- Dissertation research focused on core questions in Cellular and/or molecular biology.
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (as required by T32 eligibility).
Goals
The success of the CMB graduate training program can be attributed to:
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- The reputation of the University of Virginia, which brings together outstanding faculty and students.
- The long history of cooperation and collaboration among the faculty.
- A history of a student-centered program that is constantly evolving.
- The structuring of our programmatic activities that directly address our goals.
- Strong institutional commitment to both graduate training and to an infrastructure to oversee the entire graduate student experience.
A key to our inclusivity is strong recruitment of diverse students and faculty and CMB has trained over 20% under-represented students for the last 10 years. The program has new workshops in mentor training and by the Center of Open Science which is a Charlottesville based company at the forefront of the call for increases in Scientific reproducibility and rigor. These are incorporated into outstanding classes on ethics in science to build a student centered training environment. Scientists must also engage actively with the community so the program incorporates volunteer programs and lectures that expose students to the major challenges of today’s biomedical community.
The program is built on the philosophy that the best biomedical scientists deeply appreciate that questions in biology need to be approached at organismal, cell biological and biophysical levels. The departments at UVA school of medicine often specialize in one of these levels and thus trainees have the potential to lack exposure to the extensive number of available approaches to address biological questions. CMB mixes the top students and PIs from each of the basic science departments in a series of programmatic activities designed to ensure that trainees are exposed to the breadth of biological approaches throughout their training years. Thus, students retain broad interests organically through student-based interactions.
Communication is a key to confident and productive scientists. The program contains a series of classes, monthly meetings, poster sessions and retreats designed to increase critical professional skills that are the basis of all STEM vocations.