Fellowship Program

Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing Fellows and

NIH Traineeships in Biotechnology

Purpose:

The University of Iowa through the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and the NIH Training Program in Biotechnology makes available a total of 18 predoctoral fellowships for graduate students on our campus. These fellowships provide research training which focuses on the applications of engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, and biology to those areas of research related to biotechnology. Involvement of faculty from the physical and biological sciences as well as a curriculum which bridges these disciplines is considered essential for biotechnology training programs. For example, cooperative involvement of faculty members from several departments as research mentors is considered evidence of the requirements for training in biotechnology. While this statement of purpose is largely lifted from the NIH Training Grant in Biotechnology, it aptly applies to CBB Fellowships as well.

Qualifications:

CBB fellowships and NIH traineeships may be awarded for a maximum of three years to any duly enrolled graduate student working in the laboratory of a CBB faculty member. Awards are made on an annual basis and new applications and renewal applications are solicited each spring for competitive evaluation by members of the CBB Executive Committee.

Requirements:

The Fellowship program at the University of Iowa is truly interdisciplinary. All fellows will earn the Ph.D. degree with a dissertation based on research conducted in the laboratory of participating faculty members, and will complete all of the individual departmental requirements for the Ph.D. degree. Program requirements for the fellowship program that will assist fellows in their preparation for future careers in biocatalysis, bioprocessing and biotechnology are as follows:

Table 1. Courses in Core Areas of Biotechnology

10.

11.

12.

Admission to the Ph.D. program in participating departments.

All fellows are required to attend and participate in the Biocatalysis Seminar Program.

All fellows/trainees must take the course, “Perspectives in Biotechnology” and give an annual research presentation in this course.

Faculty members may nominate more than one fellow. However, it is a CBB objective to distribute fellowships as broadly as possible.

All fellows/trainees are required to pursue internships in research laboratories of industries involved in biotechnology. The major professor supervising individual fellows will play a major role in identifying industrial sponsors who will support their student’s internship.

All fellows/trainees must attend and participate in minisymposia which are one day industry/academic conferences held at The University of Iowa.

All fellows/trainees must present one or more posters on their research at the annual Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing Conference.

In addition to the courses required by the student’s “home” department, each fellow/trainee must take for credit a minimum of 2-3 s.h. of coursework in each of the three core areas in biotechnology.

Most fellows/trainees have sufficient coursework background to satisfy stipulated prerequisites or their equivalent for the courses in core areas of biotechnology listed on the following sheets. Registration in these courses is by “consent of instructor” and fellows/trainees are encouraged to talk with the instructor about the course prior to registering.

All courses are not offered each semester, nor are some offered each year. The CBB office will aid in assembling lists of courses being offered during the spring and fall semesters. The list will be distributed to fellows/trainees and faculty in the fellowship program.

All fellows/trainees and participating faculty are required to complete the University-wide course, “Responsible Conduct of Research”, which if offered each fall semester. There are six sessions which must be completed. Details of the time and place of each session will be provided to participating students and faculty as soon as they are announced.

Questions regarding coursework requirements can be directed to the Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing Office at (5-4903).

Table 1. Courses in Core Areas of Biotechnology

1.	Biocatalysis
	4:201 4:211 4:212 4:228 46:137 46:222 46:223 46:224 52:247 61:160 61:180 61:179 99:226 99:241 99:242	Bioinorganic Chemistry Bioanalytical Chemistry Mass Spectrometry Mechanisms of Organic Reactions Enzymatic Basis of Drug Metabolism Biogenesis of Natural Products Reaction Mechanisms of Biological Molecules Biocatalysis in Medicinal/Natural Products Chemistry Enzyme Technology Microbial Physiology Microbial Physiology Laboratory Bacterial Diversity Enzyme Kinetics and Bioorganic Mechanisms Biophysical Chemistry Biophysical Chemistry II.	3 s.h. 1 s.h. 1 s.h. 3 s.h. 2 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 2 s.h. 4 s.h. 2 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h.
2.	Bioreactor and Bioseparations
	4:210 4:217 52:108 52:145 52:180 52:181 52:249 53:151 53:264 61:xxx 46:219	Chemical Sensors Liquid Chromatography Introduction to Biochemical Engineering Chemical Reaction Kinetics Biochemical Engineering Bioseparations Biochemical Design Biological Treatment Processes Foundations in Bioremediation Fermentation Separation Methods in Medicinal Chemistry	1 s.h. 1 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h. ------- 3 s.h. 3 s.h. ------- 3 s.h.
3.	Molecular Biology and Genetics
	99:120 99:130 99:140 99:237 61:167 61:177 61:170 61:175 61:173 52:280 61:188 142:210 142:215	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II Experimental Biochemistry Special Topics: “Regulatory Interactions in Macromolecular Assemblies” Molecular Immunology Molecular Immunology Laboratory Microbial Genetics Microbial Genetics Laboratory Laboratory Methods in Cellular Immunology Engineering Aspects of Animal Cell Culture Microbial Biotechnology Molecular Biology I Molecular Biology II	3 s.h. 3 s.h. 4 s.h. 1 s.h. 3 s.h. ------- 3s.h. 2s.h. ------- 3 s.h. 2 s.h. 3 s.h. 3 s.h.