The Wesleyan Molecular Biophysics Training Program was one of 27 U.S. universities awarded a $600,000 grant this fall from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) for disease-related research. The five-year grant brings the total amount the program has received since 1988 to more than two and a half million dollars.
News of the grant was announced on Sept. 9 at the Fifth Annual Molecular Biophysics Retreat at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown.
The NIGMS is part of the National Institute of Health, which supports biomedical research and training nationwide for disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
The biophysics program at Wesleyan comprises eight faculty members, 27 graduate students, postdoctoral research associates and undergraduate students. It is an interdisciplinary program drawing from the chemistry, molecular biology and physics departments.
The new grant will go toward funding three existing annual graduate stipends, luring speakers in academic and business-related fields to campus, travel to field conferences, operating expenses and lab research.
“[The grant will help foster] a community of learning, instead of isolated learning initiatives,” said Professor of Chemistry David Beveridge, the director of the Molecular Biophysics Program.
Laura Vickers ’05, who worked in the biophysics lab over the summer, echoed the importance of having speakers come to campus.
“It’s really great to meet professionals in my research area, people you admire,” she said.
She added that meeting speakers has allowed her to realize that research doesn’t have to end in college.
“It can help students get ideas about what field they want to go into. And after all the studying, meeting [them] is the fun part.”
All lectures are open to the Wesleyan community and have been popular among students in the past, according to Beveridge.
Vickers, in conjunction with the Biophysics Program, is currently focused on studying the structure of protein folding. Researchers are using molecular dynamic simulation to study the transfer of the human HPV virus (an STI) to human DNA. The virus is able to spread to the DNA without physical contact. Such research could help in finding cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, Mad Cow (BSE), Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease.
“It’s a synergistic thing, biophysics,” said Ishita Mukerji, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. “It draws on different disciplines and allows them to come together.”
Despite the prestigious nature of the Biophysics Training Program, many students have not heard of it.
Liabeth Yohannes ’05, a Biology major who works for the Biology Department, said she didn’t know the program existed.
Sarah Johnson ’05, a Science in Society major, said expanding such a program is a positive step for the University.
“Traditionally you don’t think of Wesleyan as a science related place,” Johnson said.
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