Page Contents:
- Program Organization
- Brief History
- Links to additional information
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Voltage imaging reveals responses to an electrical shock in a hippocampal slice (Image courtesy of the M. Jackson lab) |
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Program Organization
A. Program Organization back to top
Graduate training in Biophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is organized through two distinct but very closely allied programs: the Biophysics Graduate Degree Program, which confers the Ph.D. in Biophysics to its graduates, and the Molecular Biophysics Training Program, a program built around an NIH NRSA Institutional Training Grant awarded through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The two programs are coordinated through a common leadership and administrative structure to bring together the UW Biophysics community around mutual interests and needs. The training grant provides funds to help recruit, encourage and support a selected group of graduate students in this important area. A student applies to the Biophysics Degree Program through the formal admissions process; applications to Biophysics and other participating programs (Biochemistry, Chemistry, Physiology, and others) are further evaluated to decide on offers of a NIH training grant position.
B. Brief History back to top
Beginning in the 1930’s and continuing to the present, the UW-Madison has developed and maintained a strong tradition in cutting-edge molecular biophysics. In 1964, the University established a non-departmental Ph.D. Degree Program in Biophysics aimed primarily at undergraduate physics and chemistry majors. In 1965, an NIH Biophysics Training Grant was awarded; it continued until the phase-out of NIH training programs in the 1970s. The Training Grant component was funded again beginning in 1989 through the present. Thus the UW Biophysics Graduate Degree Program (BGDP) and the NIH-funded Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) share a parallel history over some 40 years. In the past decade, the combination of the BGDP and the MBTP has nucleated dramatic growth in molecular biophysics on the UW campus, paralleling the international growth of the field. From an original group of 5 trainers in 3 departments (1965), the MBTP now includes 28 faculty members affiliated with 11 departments that span four colleges. The majority of the MBTP trainers have tenure homes in the departments of Biochemistry (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), Chemistry (College of Letters and Science), and Physiology (Medical School).
C. Additional Links back to top
Follow these links to learn more:
Biophysics Graduate Degree Program
Molecular Biophysics Training Program (NIGMS/NIH Training Grant)
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