Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
118 NEWINS-ZEIGLER HALL
GAINESVILLE,FL 32611
Performing Department
ANIMAL SCIENCES
Non Technical Summary
The fields of animal and veterinary science traditionally have involved elucidation of basic biological principles and application to improve animal health, production efficiency and food safety. Continued progress in these endeavors will necessitate assimilation of concepts and techniques derived from molecular and cell biology. The animal or veterinary scientist of today should be an integrationist who can combine concepts derived from physiology, genetics, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and animal management to develop unique approaches for altering animal production. The need for students with advanced degrees that combine these disciplines is expected to increase as molecular biology and cell biology become integrated into all aspects of animal biology. Moreover, the range of organizations that will require animal molecular biologists should expand as biology continues to be commercialized and companies engaged in molecular and cell biology proliferate.
Large animal models are increasingly important in biotechnology in a wide range of uses including production of recombinant proteins, xenotransplantation, and other cloning technologies. The purpose of this program in Animal Molecular and Cell Biology (AMCB) is to educate scientists to have an understanding of principles of molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply this knowledge to problems of animal health, livestock production, and biotechnology. This will be achieved by providing extensive and integrative training in molecular and cell biology in an interdisciplinary setting.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Founded in 1993, the goal of the University of Florida Graduate Program in Animal Molecular and Cell Biology (AMCB) is to educate scientists to understand principles of molecular and cellular biology and the application of these principles to problems of animal biology in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and biotechnology. The goal is to produce doctoral scientists with the knowledge and skills to be productive members of university faculties and corporate research teams that are engaged in development of animal biotechnology, cell biology, and molecular biology. Specifically for this proposal, two doctoral students will be trained.
Project Methods
The general approach is to provide extensive and integrative training in molecular and cellular biology to students who are working towards the Ph.D. degree and who have recently completed either a M.S. degree in one of the animal or veterinary sciences or who have a D.V.M. and prior research experience. Students in the AMCB are provided extensive and integrative training in molecular and cell biology. A course (ASG 6666L) entitled Molecular and Cellular Research Methods provides students early in their program with orientation to molecular and cell biology research. Students perform short rotations (6 weeks) in laboratories of three scientists on campus involved in molecular biology or cell biology research. It is also possible for students to do an internship at one of the companies of the Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Incubator. Research activities begin early in a student's program. The goal is to learn how to conduct research through interactive experience
with the major professor, the Supervisory Committee, and fellow students using research topics of cell and molecular biology. A major objective is to expose students to a wide range of concepts and techniques in molecular and cell biology through interaction with other laboratories. Collaboration is an important value at the University of Florida and students have many opportunities to work in other laboratories. Students will mix the practice of science at the bench or in the field with a variety of intellectual exercises in journal clubs and seminars that teach critical thinking skills in a way that strengthens ability to develop hypotheses, plan research and interpret data as well as expose students to cutting-edge concepts in modern biology. To provide students with exposure to molecular and cell biology research, an Animal Molecular and Cell Biology Seminar is held monthly during the Fall and Spring semesters. Students are required to participate in an AMCB journal club that
meets twice monthly. Each semester, a specific topic is chosen by the students that forms the basis around which papers are chosen. Social activities are also stressed in the AMCB so as to encourage faculty and students to make close acquaintances and friendships across laboratories and thereby facilitate information exchange and collaborative research. The capstone to the years activities for the AMCB is the Annual Research Symposium. The symposium is a two-day event held on a Friday and Saturday in the spring semester at a location outside Gainesville. Graduates of the AMCB will be likely to enter either academia or corporate research organizations. Since its founding, a total of 26 Ph.D. have been conferred through the AMCB. Of the PhD graduates, 15 currently hold faculty positions at universities, 3 work in industry, 5 are doing postdocs, and one each is a research scientist in a zoo, a veterinary resident, and a high school teacher. Thus, the AMCB anticipates that current
doctoral trainees will be easily placed in positions in academia, industry and elsewhere to meet the demand for trained scientists in animal molecular and cell biology.