Ohio Eminent Scholar Karin Musier-Forsyth, professor of chemistry and biochemistry; and Michael Ibba, professor of microbiology, successfully competed for a National Institutes of Health grant that will establish the new Cellular, Molecular, and Biochemical Sciences Program (CMBP) at Ohio State.

This specialized training program is designed to attract top-tier graduate students; prepare them for life-sciences research careers in academia, government or industry; and advance research pursuits in areas related to human health, physiology and disease.

Ibba and Musier-Forsyth will co-direct the program, supported by an estimated $4 million budget in federal and university funds, $1 million of which will provide graduate student stipends for the first five years of the program.

Ibba credits the new College of Arts and Sciences structure and increased institutional support for interdisciplinary graduate training with creating ideal conditions for hosting this new program.

“This represents an important advance for Ohio State in general and for Arts and Sciences in particular,” Ibba said. “We will be able to financially support and train graduate students who have the highest potential to pursue challenging careers in the emerging molecular life-sciences fields.”

Thirty-five faculty members from five related molecular life sciences graduate programs-- biophysics; microbiology; molecular, cellular and developmental biology; molecular genetics; and the Ohio State Biochemistry Program--will participate in teaching and training.

Students will be expected to master a core scientific area in depth, as well as participate in interdisciplinary training activities to broaden their research skills. Workshops, internships, monthly research meetings and additional educational components, all guided by an assigned faculty adviser and peer mentor, will enhance their preparation for high-level research careers.

Program leaders hope to award at least one-third of these specialized training fellowships to domestic under-represented minority students, a goal supported by dedicated institutional support.

Ohio State joins an elite group of universities nationwide able to successfully compete for these grants. According to the NIH, funding for these specialized training programs is reserved for institutions that can offer broad access to research opportunities across disciplinary and departmental lines.