PROJECT SUMMARYThe Biochemistry Molecular and Cellular Biology (BMCB) graduate program at the University of Arizona is aninterdepartmental and interdisciplinary graduate program that seeks to equip students with a broadunderstanding of modern approaches in Biochemistry Molecular and Cellular Biology and Systems/Quantitative Biology and the way these approaches can be combined to tackle important unsolved problems inBiology and Medicine. To achieve this goal we focus on ensuring our students develop eight interrelated skills:(1) A broad knowledge of Biochemistry Molecular Biology and System/Quantitative Biology; (2) A broadinterdisciplinary knowledge of experimental/computational approaches; (3) An ability to communicate (and thusthink) clearly; (4) An ability to read evaluate and integrate the scientific literature (5) A deep knowledge in thefield of thesis research; (6) An ability to plan and execute experiments; (7) An ability to generate new insightsand ideas; (8) An ability to recognize important research problems and questions. Students start developingtheir foundational skills (1-5) in first year classes; using group work to study key literature build up theirunderstanding of experimental methods and approaches and develop good communication skills. At the sametime students do three eight-week rotations to learn the intricacies of experimentation and identify a suitablefaculty mentor. Then as students start their second year they enroll in a Scientific Communication coursewhere they are guided though the process of developing their thesis project writing it up and submitting it as afellowship and presenting it in oral form. Starting in Fall 2019 our students will also take a Quantitative Methodscourse at the start of their second year where they will learn to program in R carry out a range of statisticaltests and then use those skills to analyze images movies and large Omics datasets (helping with the rigor andreproducibility of their future research). Students then move on to their Oral and Written exams and beginfocusing on their thesis project. At the same time however they continue to participate in a number of activitiesdesigned to help them refine their skills remain connected to the BMCB community and identify and secure acareer that works for them. The most important of these are: (1) a new Journal Club and associated IdeaDevelopment Workshop that provides students multiple opportunities to develop and refine new ideas andquestions each semester; and (2) Student Only retreats career development workshops and a BMCBinternship program that expose students to a wide variety of professions and help them make the contacts theyneed to move forward in their career. To help support these activities we are requesting funds to cover thecosts of eight BMCB students per year approximately 1/3 of our TGE students. Students will be appointed tothe training grant for one or subject to renewal two years; preferably in their second and third year. Ourexpectation is that ~90% of students that enter the BMCB program will graduate and go on to have a career inBiological or Biomedical research--regardless of their gender or race--a goal we have met for the last 10 years.