MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, THE
Grant: $9,346 - National Institutes of Health - Jul. 19, 2009
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Award Description: Development of Kinetin as a Treatment for Familial Dysautonomia
Project Description: Project not yet started. We are actively searching for a candidate for the Summer 2010 position
Jobs Summary: Introduction We are requesting funds to establish an undergraduate summer training program in the Center for Human Genetic Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. We have formed an alliance with Eckerd College, a small undergraduate liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida, to offer summer research positions to their most outstanding incoming junior and senior students. Eckerd College is a unique institution, attracting the best and brightest from around the country and around the world. The largest major at Eckerd College is Marine Science, followed closely by Biology and Pre-med. Since Eckerd is an undergraduate institution, the opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in large academic laboratories is limited. This program will offer the students an opportunity to work in laboratories performing cutting-edge translational research in an exceptional environment. It is highly likely that these research positions will convince some of the students to pursue a career in the health-related sciences. Structure As listed on the cover letter to this application, there are currently eight NINDS funded investigators in the CHGR, with at least eleven currently active grants that we have bundled into this supplement request. We feel strongly that this group approach will enable us to create an exciting and unique summer program. We are requesting funds for summer 2010 so that we can fully implement the program as described. Therefore, we anticipate changes to the funding status of some of the grants bundled into this application since competing renewals are currently under review. We anticipate that the grants to which individual supplements are made as part of this program can be determined prior to funding. We were advised to submit this application for the current deadline since we do not yet know if the request for applications will be renewed for later submissions. This is a unique and rewarding program, and we are committed to working with NINDS to determine how to best implement the award. Eckerd College Eckerd College is the only private national liberal arts college in Florida. Located in St. Petersburg, the college has 1800 undergraduate students and very strong programs in the sciences. One quarter of the students major in the sciences each year, and a remarkable 50% of applicants this past year indicated a desire to major in science. Marine science is the largest major at Eckerd, followed closely by biology and pre-med. Eckerd College has a diverse student body with students from 48 states and 33 countries, and it is one of only 40 schools listed in Loren Pope’s Colleges that Change Lives. Eckerd offers a truly unique learning environment. Classes are small with a student to faculty ratio of 13:1, and 78% of all students live on campus. Dr. Susan Slaugenhaupt, an Associate Professor in the CHGR, is an Eckerd alumnus and has remained active in alumni affairs, recently being appointed to the Dean’s Council on the Sciences at Eckerd College. Eckerd’s strong support of science education is evidenced by the current capital campaign to raise funds for a new Center for Molecular and Life Sciences, which will house both biology and chemistry teaching and research laboratories. The Eckerd College faculty in the Biology Discipline are extremely excited about this program, and have even suggested that they will introduce the research projects currently ongoing in the CHGR laboratories in their classes (please see attached letter from Dr. Steven Denison, Biology Discipline Coordinator and Pre-Health Professions Advisor). Therefore, this partnership will serve to benefit not only the students chosen to participate in the summer research program, but all science students at the college. Center for Human Genetic Research The Center for Human Genetic Research (CHGR) is one of four recently created thematic centers at Massachusetts General Hospital. The CHGR is a multidisciplinary cross-departmental center that (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Not Started
This award's data was last updated on Jul. 19, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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