Graduate School Of The Stowers Institute For Medical Research

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SIMR'S("GSSIMR") EXEMPT PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE GRADUATE EDUCATION THAT WILL PREPARE SCHOLARS FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES.

THE MISSION OF GSSIMR IS TO PREPARE A SUPERB CADRE OF PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE PURSUIT OF INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE INVESTIGATIONS IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. ALL SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS SHARE A DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO PERFORM BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH, AS EVIDENCED BY PREVIOUS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. THE PROGRAM FOCUSES ON EXTENDING THE ABILITY OF PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS THROUGH HANDS-ON LABORATORY EXPERIENCE THAT STRESSES HIGHLY CRITICAL THINKING IN COMBINATION WITH IN-DEPTH EXPERIENCE IN THE LATEST METHODOLOGIES. PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS PERFORM THESIS RESEARCH IN LABORATORIES WORKING AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRY. IN AN AVERAGE TIME OF FIVE YEARS FROM MATRICULATION, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AND EXECUTE A RESEARCH PROJECT THAT ADDRESSES A SIGNIFICANT BIOLOGICAL QUESTION, WHICH WILL RESULT IN A PH.D.IN BIOLOGY. THE PROGRAM OF GSSIMR STRESSES CRITICAL THINKING AND THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL PROWESS, INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL DIDACTIC COURSEWORK. IN AUGUST, THE PREDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAM STARTS WITH A SERIES OF SEVEN INTENSIVE ALL-DAY MODULAR COURSES WITH TOPICS INCLUDING TRANSCRIPTION AND CHROMATIN, DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, GENOMICS, AND NEUROSCIENCE. THE MODULES INCLUDE SIGNIFICANT LAB WORK, AS WELL AS LECTURES AND CRITICAL READING AND DISCUSSION OF RELEVANT PAPERS. IN SPRING OF THEIR FIRST YEAR, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ENGAGE IN THREE CONSECUTIVE TWO-MONTH ROTATIONS IN LABS OF THEIR CHOICE. UNDISTRACTED BY TRADITIONAL COURSEWORK, EXPECTATIONS ARE EXTREMELY HIGH FOR PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS TO FOCUS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON A SHORT-TERM RESEARCH PROJECT. PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ALSO PARTICIPATE IN A FIFTEEN-WEEK COURSE THAT IS DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NECESSARY PROFICIENCY IN CRITICAL THINKING, READING, AND WRITING. PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ENTER THEIR THESIS LABS IN JUNE OF THEIR FIRST YEAR AND UNDERGO AN ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, PERFORMANCE, AND RESEARCH PROGRESS WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THEIR THESIS RESEARCH. UPON COMPLETION OF THEIR RESEARCH PROJECTS, PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY INTERESTING BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, DEVISE AND CREATE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO THOSE PROBLEMS, AND EXECUTE INVESTIGATIONS USING THE BEST TOOLS AVAILABLE. PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS ARE EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY IN THE CORE COMPETENCIES BY THE END OF THEIR PROGRAM. THE COMPLETION OF A BODY OF RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES A SIGNIFICANT BIOLOGICAL PROBLEM AND IS LIKELY TO RESULT IN AT LEAST ONE PUBLICATION IN A HIGH-IMPACT JOURNAL IS REQUIRED FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE PH.D. RESEARCH PROGRAM. THE PUBLICATION FORMS THE MAIN BODY OF A THESIS. A DETAILED LITERATURE REVIEW PRECEDES THE THESIS AND A DISCUSSION OF THE POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS IN THE RESEARCH FOLLOWS THE THESIS. PRESENTATION OF AN OPEN SEMINAR ALSO IS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE RESEARCH PROGRAM. GSSIMR ADMITTED ITS FIRST CLASS TO BEGIN THE PH.D. PROGRAM IN AUGUST 2012 AND HAS ADMITTED A NEW CLASS EACH AUGUST. AT THE END OF 2021, THE PROGRAM CONSISTED OF 39 PREDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS WITH VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BACKGROUNDS FROM 12 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 24 PH.D. DEGREES HAVE BEEN CONFERRED SINCE THE 2016-2017 ACADEMIC YEAR.

GSSIMR HAS ANOTHER INSTRUCTION PROGRAM KNOWN AS THE STOWERS SUMMER SCHOLARS PROGRAM. THE MISSION OF THE STOWERS SUMMER SCHOLARS PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE AN INVALUABLE LABORATORY EXPERIENCE FOR THOSE SERIOUS SCIENCE SCHOLARS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT GRADUATE SCHOOL AND A FUTURE IN ACADEMIC RESEARCH. EACH SCHOLAR PARTICIPATING IN THE STOWERS SUMMER SCHOLARS PROGRAM WORKS ON AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT. THE PROGRAM OFFERS SCHOLARS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME IMMERSED IN A RESEARCH TOPIC FOR A FULL-TIME EIGHT-WEEK PERIOD. STOWERS SCHOLARS HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO INTERACT AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR LABORATORY AND THE STOWERS COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. IN THIS WAY, STOWERS SCHOLARS EXPERIENCE NOT ONLY THE INTELLECTUAL BUT ALSO THE COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT OF RESEARCH. IN ADDITION, STOWERS SCHOLARS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH THE LATEST TECHNIQUES IN LABORATORIES AND SUPPORTING CORE CENTERS, WHICH ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY. STOWERS SCHOLARS SPEND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THEIR TIME IN THE LABORATORY. ALL SCHOLARS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND WEEKLY SCIENTIFIC SEMINARS ON AN ARRAY OF RESEARCH TOPICS. OTHER ACTIVITIES INCLUDE A WEEKLY LUNCH WHERE SCHOLARS HEAR PRESENTATIONS BY STOWERS SCIENTISTS, SHARE IDEAS, AND DISCUSS INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AND EXPERIMENTS. AT THE COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, SCHOLARS PRESENT THEIR WORK IN AN ALL-INSTITUTE POSTER SESSION. IN 2021, THE STOWERS SUMMER SCHOLARS PROGRAM HAD 19 PARTICIPANTS FROM TWO COUNTRIES, REPRESENTED 15 SCHOOLS, AND PERFORMED RESEARCH IN 12 DIFFERENT LABS AT THE STOWERS INSTITUTE.

GSSIMR HAS AN ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM, STOWERS RESEARCH SCHOLARS, A MENTORED ONE-YEAR POSTBACCALAUREATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN LABS AT THE STOWERS INSTITUTE. THROUGH GUIDED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND ACADEMIC CAREER MENTORING, THIS PROGRAM AIMS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NIH-DEFINED UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH. STOWERS RESEARCH SCHOLARS ARE ELIGIBLE TO ACCESS COURSES AND PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH THE GSSIMR PH.D. PROGRAM. IN ADDITION, RESEARCH SCHOLARS HAVE ACCESS TO CAREER DEVELOPMENT COUNSELING AND GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION MENTORING FROM GSSIMR STAFF. THE PROGRAM REQUIRES PARTICIPANTS TO DEMONSTRATE A PASSION FOR BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, HAVE RECEIVED A BA OR BS DEGREE IN A STEM FIELD, AND BE INTERESTED IN PURSUING AN ADVANCED RESEARCH DEGREE. FOR THE 2021-2022 PROGRAM YEAR, THE PROGRAM HAS FOUR PARTICIPANTS PERFORMING RESEARCH IN THREE DIFFERENT LABS AT THE STOWERS INSTITUTE.