Students who are interested in exploring cytoskeletal research, and who would like to apply for admission to Purdue, have several options available. Applications can be made to the individual departments, such as Biological Sciences, Basic Medical Sciences or Agronomy. In addition, many of the cytoskeletal research faculty belong to interdepartmental graduate training program such as PULSe, a new approach to interdisciplinary life science graduate study.

GAANN GRANT
The Department of Biological Sciences has been awarded a GAANN training grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Ph.D. studies in structural cell biology. (The acronym GAANN stands for Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need.) The award of this grant recognizes the strong research groups in structural and cell biology within the department and the need for students to be trained at the interface of these two areas in order to advance the study of complex cellular processes. To help accomplish this, Fellows will be required to do one of the four lab rotations in a structural biology lab and one in a cell biology lab during the first year. The primary training faculty in structural biology include Profs. Bolin, Cramer, Friedman, Hasson, Kuhn, McGough, Post, Rossmann, Sanders, and Stauffacher. The primary training faculty in cell biology include Profs. Anderson, Hollenbeck, Ready, Staiger, Stein, and Zhou. Information about research in these labs can be found through our departmental web site (http://www.bio.purdue.edu).

Training on this grant includes an emphasis on improving teaching at the college level and preparing graduate students to teach at the college level. All fellowship recipients will be expected to participate in a seminar on teaching during their first academic year of support. Topics will focus on the Fellows needs and interests. Additional teaching workshops are offered by the University; these provide special training in different aspects of teaching and can be taken by graduate students. Fellows supported by the GAANN grant are expected to be teaching assistants (TA) for one year. For the TA requirement, Fellows will assist one semester in a laboratory course and one semester in a 400-level (junior/senior level) course. During this supervised teaching experience, Fellows will receive additional training in teaching methods through close interactions with the professor in charge of the course.

The training grant provides up to 3 years of fellowship support for eligible students with a stipend of $16,000/year for a 12 month appointment and a fund for travel and supplies (about $1,000 ea/yr). The stipend cannot be supplemented by other funds. Tuition and fees are paid. Fellows are eligible for health insurance through the Purdue Graduate Student Health Insurance plan and will receive a reimbursement for this insurance.

To be eligible for the grant, a Ph.D. student must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or citizen of one of the Freely Associated States (e.g., Guam, Palau) and demonstrate financial need. For the latter requirement, the Office of Financial Aid will provide forms and perform an annual assessment.