Wayne State awarded $2.5 million NIH grant to grow graduate training programs

DETROIT – Wayne State University recently received an Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) T32 training program grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. This $2.5 million grant will aid in growing Wayne State’s successful IMSD R25 graduate training program in biomedical sciences and behavioral research, which existed for many years and was led by Joseph C. Dunbar, Ph.D., professor of physiology and director of medical student research and innovation in Wayne State’s School of Medicine, along with Rasheeda Zafar, Ph.D., IMSD program administrator.

The IMSD T32 program will provide 10 graduate students a year with a structured academic community, additional career-development activities and individualized mentoring, allowing the diverse trainees to cultivate highly sought-after skills that will lead to successful careers in the biomedical sciences.

According to the program directors of the newly awarded T32 grant — Christine Chow, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in Wayne State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Michele Cote, Ph.D., professor of oncology in Wayne State’s School of Medicine; and Stephen M. Lanier, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and vice president for research — the goal of the program is to provide targeted, individualized training and mentoring to meet the needs of a diverse body of graduate students and facilitate successful completion of their Ph.D. degrees.

“The IMSD T32 students will prepare for careers in the biomedical sciences and go on to serve as mentors to future generations because of the unique and excellent training they will receive at Wayne State University,” said Lanier. “The IMSD T32 program will develop and enhance their academic skills and professional career development, and will integrate them into our learning community and allow them to remain active throughout their entire training at WSU, with enhanced opportunities for teaching and mentoring.”

Special features of the program include broad connectivity within and outside of the Wayne State campus, access to specialized technology resources, support for travel to professional conferences as well as opportunities for peer and near-peer mentoring and undergraduate teaching experiences within Wayne State’s learning community.

“All of these activities are intended to provide opportunities for IMSD student trainees to develop skills in presentation, teaching and mentoring that will not only maintain their focus on career goals, but also develop professional skills that they will utilize in their future research/academic careers,” said Chow and Cote.

The T32 IMSD program will build on the successes of Wayne State’s long-established IMSD program.

“We are grateful for the many years that Dr. Dunbar led our successful R25 IMSD program. His track record and engagement as a committed mentor were the key components of leading us to the successful funding of our T32 program,” said Chow, Cote and Lanier. “He has paved an excellent path for our T32 program, and we look forward to growing the program in his honor.”

The National Institutes of Health project number for this award is 1T32GM139807.

About Wayne State University

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit research.wayne.edu.