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Biophysics Steering Committee
2005-2006
Meyer Jackson Chair (Professor, Physiology)
Sam Butcher (Associate Professor, Biochemistry)
Silvia Cavagnero (Associate Professor, Chemistry)
Qiang Cui (Associate Professor, Chemistry)
Katrina Forest (Associate Professor, Bacteriology)
Tom Record (Professor, Chemistry/Biochemistry
James Weisshaar, (Professor, Chemistry)
Kim Voss (Administrator, Institute for Molecular Virology)
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 | | Caption: Crystals of the Chromophore Binding Domain of Deinococcus radiodurans Phytochrome, shown under natural light to highlight the colored protein (Image courtesy of J.R. Wagner and K. Forest lab) |
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Steering Committee Role and Responsibilities
The Steering Committee advises and assists the Director on matters of program policy and the planning and coordination of activities. The major areas include:
1) BGDP (Graduate) Admissions/ MBTP Trainee Selection. The admissions "subcommittee" is charged with attracting and selecting outstanding students each year for entry into the program. They make admissions decisions each January. The Committee, as a whole, also considers mechanisms for insuring that the program takes advantage of all appropriate sources of predoctoral support for incoming and continuing graduate students (UW fellowships, extramural training grants). With the recent policy shift to awarding the Molecular Biophysics training grant slots to incoming graduate students, admissions and training grant selection now are part of the same process. However, there are training grants other than Molecular Biophysics that may be appropriate for our incoming students (e.g. Computations and Informatics in Biology and Medicine, Biotechnology) in which case the admissions subcommittee would submit nominations as appropriate.
2) Advising Students. Committee members advise students who are new to the program about course and degree requirements, preliminary examinations, and the procedure for arranging laboratory rotations during the first semester of enrollment leading to selection of the thesis laboratory. These matters are addressed in a formal orientation session for all new students and then informally as requested. The administrative staff also plays a significant role in advising on these matters based on the policy and direction set by the Committee. Senior students may consult committee members about courses, degree requirements, individual matters relating to graduate life and career advice.
3) Degree Requirements / Student Progress Checks. The Committee periodically reviews the recommended core course content for relevancy and appropriateness for Biophysics students/trainees. Additionally, the Committee is responsible for organizing special event sessions to augment the training received in courses. These sessions are typically scheduled in the evening and cover topics such as Responsible Conduct of Science, laboratory setup, and giving presentations. The Committee and Administrator work jointly in the administration of the preliminary examination requirements. A Biophysics student takes a written and an oral prelim exam. A prerequisite to the written exam is a certification form that formalizes selection of a thesis committee and outlines the full plan of coursework leading to the Ph.D. The progress in research is monitored through the thesis committees (see below).
4) Trainer Appointments. The Steering Committee accepts applications for and/or nominations to be appointed as a trainer in the Molecular Biophyiscs Training Program. Review and recommendation for appointment takes into account the research focus, funding, past training history and willingness to participate in program activities. Periodically, the Steering Committee reviews the trainer pool to assess the involvement of each trainer with the program.
Thesis Committees All Biophysics trainers are subject to serving on the thesis committees of the Biophysics graduate students. Students in their second year of graduate study compose a thesis committee; the student selects two members in addition to the major advisor and the program appoints two members for a committee of five. Generally all members of the thesis committee are Biophysics trainers although a student may request a non-program member to gain a particular expertise relevant to the student's project. The thesis committee typically serves to preside over the written and oral preliminary exams, to monitor progress through annual meetings with the student and to judge the final oral defense of the Ph.D. thesis.
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