The NIA Alzheimer's Disease Clinical and Translational Research Training Program at Rensselaer provides funding for eight Ph.D. candidates annually. The fellowship covers full tuition and provides a stipend annually for two years for training related expenses, although this does not include expenses related to research projects. Women and minority students, as well as students with disabilities and/or disadvantaged backgrounds, are especially encouraged to apply.
Fellowship Eligibility
- U.S. citizens, noncitizen national or permanent resident of the U.S.
- Incoming Ph.D. students or Ph.D. students with less than three semesters in the Ph.D. program of one of the participating departments at Rensselaer: Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- Students that have selected an advisor that is a member of the Training Program faculty
- Students that have selected a co-advisor from outside their department. University at Albany Faculty Trainers may act as co-advisors
- Students that demonstrate a strong interest and research potential in biomolecular science and/or engineering
Fellowship Award Criteria
- Quality of proposed research plan
- Academic Performance (e.g., GPA, quality of undergraduate coursework)
- Research Experience (e.g., publications, presentations, undergraduate research experience)
- Quality of letters of recommendation
- Applicant diversity, students whose degree plans clearly delineate an interdisciplinary program, and balance among the four participating departments
Training Program Fellowship Requirements
Trainees who have fulfilled the requirements of the Training Program fellowship will be awarded a Training Certificate in Biomolecular Science and Engineering upon graduation from their Ph.D. programs.
General Information
Trainees will create a Slack account and join the NIH Training Program’s Slack workspace to post content and reminders related to Training Program activities and provide a means for trainees to communicate with each other.
The Progress and Forecast Report (PFR) provides a record of the Trainee’s progression through the Training Program and should be updated annually and reviewed by the Trainee’s advisor. Trainees are expected to maintain a record of their participation in all activities related to their training from the period fellowship support until graduation. The PFR is submitted annually to Gigi Felch via email until graduation.
Individual Development Plan
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a student-development based instrument that provides the advisor and the Trainee a reliable means to help assess their individual efforts and effectiveness in developing and maintaining a plan for meeting the Trainee’s educational and career goals. Trainees will complete and submit the IDP along with their PFR.
Trainees will complete the Pre-Graduation Trainee Survey form in their last semester prior to graduation, and will send the form to Gigi Felch via email . Trainees and Faculty Trainers are encouraged to suggest areas for improvement for upcoming or past Training Program activities.
Trainees will design a program for the annual retreat related to objectives of the Training Program, and are expected to attend and participate in the planning of this event until graduation. Faculty Trainers will also attend this event.
Trainees will typically spend two to three months completing an industrial internship in either the summer after their first year, or the summer after their second year of fellowship support. Trainees will work with their advisor to select a company in which to intern. Trainees electing to pursue an internship during their period of fellowship support will continue to receive a fellowship stipend regardless of internship support.
Trainees and Faculty Trainers may be tasked with serving on one or more Training Program committees, and are also expected to attend ad hoc meetings. Current fellowship-supported Trainees will present their research annually to Training Program Executive Committee until graduation.
Trainees will attend at least one conference outside of Rensselaer in which they present a paper or abstract derived from research conducted during fellowship support. Trainees should use the code T32AG078123 to acknowledge the training grant in their publications.
Trainees and Faculty Trainers will participate in awareness/education and outreach activities to learn methods for strengthening inclusivity and accommodation of various student populations, as well as to promote the Training Program to students of all backgrounds and groups.
Coursework
Trainees will take “Ethical Considerations in Biotechnology” in their first year of fellowship support. Trainees will attend one course module per semester until graduation. Faculty Trainers are expected to contribute to the instruction of this course.
Designed to expose Trainees and other graduate students to overviews of the fundamental science and engineering principles inherent in research conducted by Faculty Trainers, this course is offered every semester and Trainees will enroll each semester until graduation. The course is coordinated by Trainees, and Faculty Trainers are expected to contribute to the instruction of this course.
Trainees must take at least one course from each of the core areas:
- Pharmacologic and Non-Pharmacologic Interventions for Alzheimer’s disease and Neurodegenerative Disease
- Biomarkers and Imaging
- Structural Biology of Protein Folding / tau
- Data Science/Data Analytics
Trainees and their advisors will select courses that align with the four core areas. Trainees are required to take one course outside their school and two courses outside their major to satisfy the core area requirement. Courses taken prior to enrollment in the Training Program may count towards satisfying coursework requirements. The course requirement should be completed prior to the end of fellowship support. A course cannot correspond to more than one core area. Classes taken for graded credit at the 4000 or 6000 level count towards fulfilling the core area coursework requirements.
Training in Entrepreneurship and Commercial Translation
Trainees will participate in at least two courses or events or programs related to training in entrepreneurship and commercial translation. Trainees and Faculty Trainers are expected to participate in all entrepreneurship and commercial translation activities which are sponsored/co-sponsored by the Training Program.
Announcements of entrepreneurship and commercial translation-related courses, events and programs will be disseminated to Trainees throughout the year. The entrepreneurship and commercial translation training requirement should be completed prior to the end of fellowship support. Trainees that wish to participate in a course, event or program that is not advertised by the Training Program should consult with their advisor and send email to Gigi Felch to make a request.
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
Trainees will plan and attend the annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. Trainees will attend and participate in the planning of this event until graduation. Faculty Trainers will attend this event.
Training in Professional Development
Trainees will participate in at least two courses or events or programs related to training in professional development. Announcements of professional development-related courses and events and programs will be sent out to Trainees throughout the year. Trainees and Faculty Trainers are expected to participate in all professional development activities which are sponsored/co-sponsored by the Training Program. The professional development training requirement should be completed prior to the end of fellowship support. Trainees that wish to participate in a course, event or program that is not advertised by the Training Program should consult with their advisor and send email to Gigi Felch to make a request.
Training Enrichment
Trainees are required to pursue training activities related to human health, physiology and disease and other practical training for scientists. Trainees and Faculty Trainers are expected to participate in all training enrichment activities which are sponsored/co-sponsored by the Training Program. Opportunities for Training Enrichment will disseminate to Trainees throughout the year. Trainees will participate in at least two courses or events or programs providing training enrichment experience. The training enrichment requirement should be completed prior to the end of fellowship support. Announcements of training enrichment courses, events and programs will be disseminated to Trainees throughout the year. Trainees that wish to participate in a course, event or program that is not advertised by the Training Program should consult with their advisor and send email to Gigi Felch to make a request.
Seminars
Trainees and Faculty Trainers will attend the “Frontiers in Biotechnology Seminar Series” and “Industrial Lecture Series in Biotechnology”. These seminar series are sponsored by the Training Program and CBIS. Faculty Trainers may request to have the seminar series sponsor a speaker. Requests should be made directly to Prof. Deepak Vashishth (PI) and include a proposed agenda and cost share commitments for the speaker’s visit.
