WHAT IS THIS TRAINING PROGRAM ALL ABOUT?
This web site describes our training program in the biochemistry of
growth regulation and oncogenesis, as supported by an institutional
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award #T32 CA009523
from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.
This T32 training program
arose originally in recognition of the growing convergence of
interests among the training faculty and a desire to take full advantage
of a scientific environment that was already highly interactive in many
respects.
Currently, funding for five predoctoral trainees and seven postdoctoral
trainees is administered through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
which has operated a high-quality graduate program since the
founding of UCSD in 1960.
Currently, this T32 program is in it's 24th year of successful
operation under the uninterrupted guidance of
the same Program Director,
Dr. Daniel Donoghue.
In addition, one other member of our Supervisory Committee, Dr. Susan Taylor,
Dr. Susan Taylor
,
has served in
this capacity since the inception of this T32 program. This is a remarkable
record of continuity in our program.
OUR TRAINING FACULTY
Under the umbrella of
The Moores UCSD Cancer Center,
the training faculty for this T32 program encompass a variety of units within
the UCSD campus and community, including
The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
The Division of Biological Sciences,
The Department of Pharmacology,
The Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine,
and
The Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- the last three of which are divisions within
The School of Medicine.
In addition, this T32 program shares strong links with
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
and with
The Ludwig Institute.
To see a complete list, click on the "Training Faculty" tab provided
at the top of this page.
This T32 program was initiated almost 25 years ago by some of the
training faculty who believed that
experimental research in signal transduction and cell cycle control will
lead to a deeper understanding of oncogenesis and cancer.
The greatest
strength of this training program lies in the quality of the training
faculty, their outstanding research programs, the terrific trainees
they recruit, and their commitment to
understanding cancer from a cell biological and biochemical perspective.
It should also be noted that six of the faculty are members of the
National Academy of Sciences:
Dixon,
Hunter,
Rosenfeld,
Taylor,
Tsien,
and
Kolodner (pending).
In addition, five members of the training faculty
are also members of The Howard Hughes Medical Institute:
Dowdy,
Fu,
Rosenfeld,
Taylor and
Tsien.
All of our training faculty members are also members of
The Moores UCSD Cancer Center.
FACULTY RESEARCH AREAS
The training faculty members are expert in a variety of areas, including
cell and molecular biology, signal transduction, structural biology,
molecular virology, histopathology, endocrinology, and drug discovery.
One unique aspect
of this T32 program is its emphasis on understanding proteins involved in
growth regulation and oncogenesis at the molecular and structural levels.
Our research programs emphasize common themes relating directly to
mechanisms of cellular growth control, with four different focus groups
providing an intellectual framework for the diverse research activities of our
training faculty. These focus areas are:
1) Kinases, Phosphatases, and Their Signaling Pathways;
2) Control of Cell Cycle Progression and DNA Checkpoints;
3) Transcription Factors and Their Signaling Pathways
and
4) Chemistry of Cancer Therapeutics.
We have also organized specific curricular requirements for our trainees
depending upon the focus group of their mentor.
The training faculty are united
in their desire to advance the understanding of basic cell biological
events that cause cancer, and to identify drugs and strategies for the
treatment of cancer.
OUR TRAINEES
The quality of our trainees
funded under this T32 program, both
PRE-doctoral and POST-doctoral, is excellent.
Their published work, which has had significant scientific impact,
is impressive as judged by
the number of publications and by the caliber of the journals wherein
their work appears. To read more about our trainees,
click on the "Current Trainees" or "Past Trainees" tabs provided
at the top of this page.
TO SUM THINGS UP....
The overall scientific environment at UCSD,
enhanced by the dedication in 2005 of our new facility for
The Moores UCSD Cancer Center,
together with our association with
The Salk Institute
and with
The Ludwig Institute,
is truly outstanding.
Moreover, the proximity of UCSD to other
premier research institutes such as
The Scripps Research Institute,
The Burnham Institute (formerly known
as The La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation), and
The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center
further enhances the scientific interactions possible in our
local community. The training environment provided at UC San Diego is
among the most intellectually exciting and vibrant in the country. Most
importantly, this training program has helped to focus participating faculty
and trainees alike on the problems of growth regulation and oncogenesis
as a key issue of scientific study.
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