Graduate Student Fellowships
for Interdisciplinary Research in Quantitative Biology
sponsored by theQuantitative Biology Initiative at MSU
Coordinated by Claire Vieille (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), Wenjiang Fu (Epidemiology), Charles Ofria (Computer Science and Engineering), Yair Shachar-Hill (Plant Biology)
The goal of the Quantitative Biology Initiative (QBI) is to initiate and support research and training activities that involve the application of quantitative methods from physical, chemical, mathematical, statistical, and computational sciences to problems in biology.
The QBI fellowships are meant to facilitate the pursuit of interdisciplinary research directed at addressing important biological questions, by graduate students from either biological or non-biological sciences. Such work would typically involve two faculty mentors in different disciplines. Several one-semester fellowships are available for the academic year 2009-2010, intended to cover graduate stipend, tuition, student fees, and funds for other research associated expenses such as books or conference travel.
Applicants should be graduate students at MSU throughout the 2009-2010 academic year, and propose collaborative interdisciplinary quantitative biology research involving at least two faculty members, one expert in biological sciences, and the other in quantitative non-biological science, math, statistics, or engineering. The fellowships are aimed primarily at students who are in the first or second year of their graduate research career with an emphasis on the initiation of new collaborations. Special consideration is given to students who have already begun or are planning to enroll in one of the joint-PhD programs, and who plan to pursue a career in interdisciplinary science. All students who meet the criteria above are encouraged to apply. Applications from students early in their PhD program and those who have not previously received support from QBI are especially encouraged to apply.
To apply, please send the following materials by May
18, 2009 to:
Helen Geiger, Administrative Assistant
Quantitative Biology Initiative
502B Biochemistry Building, MSU
geiger@msu.edu (electronic submission in PDF or Word format is preferred)
- Description of proposed interdisciplinary research (2 pages maximum for text, tables, figures, references), including a title for the project. The proposal should be written by the student with only minor input by the advisor. It should include a clear statement of the biological problem that is being addressed along with a brief outline of the quantitative methods that will be applied.
- A curriculum vitae of the applicant, including information on the primary department, or enrollment in one of the joint-Ph.D. programs, and all coursework (undergraduate and graduate at MSU and elsewhere) including grades.
- At least two letters of reference along with a short curriculum vitae (2 pages max.) from MSU faculty, including the student’s major advisor and someone from the second discipline involved in guiding the research project.