HomeAbout NHGRIInitiatives and Resources for Minority and Special PopulationsMinority Action Plan (MAP) Portal The Molecular and Genomic Imaging Center

Print Version

The Molecular and Genomic Imaging Center Minority Training Program

Overview

The Molecular and Genomic Imaging Center (MGIC) is committed to training a biomedical research work force that mirrors the diversity of our nation. We encourage applications from individuals from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research (Hispanics, African Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders). The goal of our programs is to increase the number of under-represented minority Ph.D. students with an interest in genomics. Biology or engineering majors will be given priority.

MGIC, a consortium of research groups at Harvard, MIT, and Washington University, is looking for qualified candidates from underrepresented minority groups to participate in either one of the following programs:

• Summer Research Program for Undergraduates: In this program, students will perform research under the supervision and mentorship of one of our scientists, in the field of genomics, for a period of 10 weeks. In addition to performing research, students will also be exposed to journal clubs, seminars, workshops, and social activities. Students will be paid a stipend of $4000 for 10 weeks. Unfortunately, students who have already earned a baccalaureate degree AND students who will earn a baccalaureate degree in the Spring before the program dates are NOT eligible to apply for this program.

Note: The $4,000 stipend that we provide to summer students should cover the following expenses:

1. Housing (all students are required to find their own housing. We are still negotiating other housing possibilities)
2. Utilities
3. Food
4. Transportation

The $4,000 is a fixed amount and this would not change under any circumstances.

• Post-Baccalaureate Program: This is a one-to-two year program. Program participants gain research experience under the guidance of successful genome scientists, and strengthen their academic qualifications through coursework at a variety of local universities. Areas of research include: development of new DNA sequencing techniques, gene expression analysis, personalized medicine, computational biology and automation. Graduates of the Minority Training Program are expected to enroll in competitive graduate schools with the goal of developing a career in the genomic sciences.
  
  
• Graduate Program: This is a one to two-year program. The goal of this program is to provide minority graduate students from Harvard, MIT or Washington University, with opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research in the field of genomics. These students will be granted with academic support and mentorship from the principal investigator. A competitive stipend will be provided. We work in tandem with each school's regulations for lab rotations (HMS/MIT/WashU).
  
  
• Post-Doctoral Program: The Post-doctoral candidate will be expected to use his or her research experience for the enhancement of current projects in our laboratory. Novel ideas and other academic backgrounds within the sciences are also encouraged. This position is grant-funded by the NIH for one year, with the possibility of renewal.

Programs Applicant Requirements Program Benefits Summer Undergraduate Program Competitive academic record (transcript) U.S. citizen Two letters of recommendation from faculty Personal Statement Research experience Certificate of completion Opportunity for publication $4,000 stipend/ 10 weeks Group activities Post-Baccalaureate Program B.S./B.A. obtained within the past year Competitive academic record (transcript) U.S. citizen Two letters of recommendation from faculty Personal Statment Competitive salary, including full benefits Tuition reimbursement Computer and course materials provided GRE preparation through Kaplan or the Princeton Review and assistance with graduate school Relocation expenses covered Attend national symposia (optional) Graduate Program Competitive academic record (transcript) Intention to earn a Ph.D. and pursue a career in genomic sciences U.S. citizen Two letters of recommendation from faculty Personal Statment Computer and course materials provided Competitive stipend Opportunity to do research under the guidance and expertise of our Principal Investigator Attend national and international symposia Postdoctoral Program Competitive academic record (transcript) U.S. citizen Two letters of recommendation from faculty Personal Statement Copy of thesis Power Point presentation on graduate work to be presented at our lab meeting Competitive salary, including full benefits Computer and course materials provided Tuition reimbursement Relocation expenses covered Attend national and international symposia

All applicants must be members of a minority group under-represented in genomic sciences (African-American, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander).

Note:

• MatLab
• C++
• SQL
• HTML
• JAVA
• UNIX
• Perl

Application Instructions: Application forms will be available online. The personal statement/cover letter should not be more than one page long and it should include your motivation in joining our program, your skills and goals. Please send your CV, signed personal statement/cover letter, and two letters of recommendation to the following address:

Katherine Montero
Program Coordinator
Minority Action Plan
Harvard Medical School
New Research Building, Room 232-Church Lab
77 Avenue Louis Pasteur
Boston, MA 02115

Phone: (617) 432-6515
Fax: (617) 432-6513
E-mail: kmontero@genetics.med.harvard.edu

Participating Laboratories

Four laboratories will be participating in these programs. Two are located in Boston and two are located in St. Louis.

• Harvard Molecular Technology Group & Lipper Center for Computational Genetics [arep.med.harvard.edu]
• Gottlieb Lab [neuroscience.wustl.edu]
• The Mitra Lab, Washington University [genetics.wustl.edu]
• MIT, Sherley Lab [web.mit.edu]

If you would prefer to be placed in a particular laboratory out of the four listed above, please indicated this in your application.

About Our Research

Church Lab: The mission of our group is to develop broadly distributed, integrated models for biomedical & ecological systems. To make these systems-biology models useful & accurate, we develop biotechnologies suitable for comprehensive yet cost-effective systems measures & synthesis of designed biosystems. In particular, we focus on replication of four systems - mammalian stem cells, cell-cycle metabolism, microbial ecosystems (e.g. ocean circadian cycles & biofilms), & "in vitro" mini-genomes. Each of these has advantages for developing "systems analysis" tools & each represent existing clinical or commercial practice ripe for improvements (e.g. respectively, stem cell transplants, metabolic engineering, environmental bioremediation, & molecular biology "kits").

Although in some ways broad & interdisciplinary, the integration of systems-analyses & "-omics" technologies does represent a specialized discipline. It requires a focused & dynamic tool-set & outlook. Examples of technologies include proteomic mass spectrometry, microarrays (for whole -genome RNA, mutant growth rates, & DNA-protein interactions), polymerase colony ("polony") amplification (for RNA splicing, haplotyping, sequencing), & chemical synthesis of genes & genomes. These are integrated with each other & with relevant systems models. These models include metabolic optimization, clusters of transcription factor motifs, & 3D (& with time 4D) models of genome folding & replication.

Gottlieb Lab: Our lab's focus is embryonic stem (ES) and neural stem (NS) cells. We are interested in how a network of transcription factors guides development from the totipotent ES cell to a committed NS cell. We use a model of mammalian neural development in which ES cells efficiently differentiate into neural stem cells in cell culture. This model has 3 advantages: large cell numbers, control over the cellular environment and genetic approaches based on gene targeting. Thus biochemical, genetic and cell biological approaches can be applied to the problem. One project is looking at the role of 3 transcription factor genes ( Olig 1, 2, and 3 ) in specifying neural cell fate; we are studying their transcriptional control and have identified their promoters and candidate regulatory regions. A bioinformatics analysis in collaboration with Barak Cohen reveals in all three genes novel, large, highly conserved non-genic sequences with conservation extending from the human to chicken genomes. Another project focuses on "cellular memory" the phenomenon in which stem cells divide continuously but stay locked into a committed state. A third project (in collaboration with Rob Mitra) is exploring PCR colony (polony) technology to profile gene expression of stem cells at the single cell level. The lab maintains collaborations with groups investigating ES cells in neural repair of spinal cord injury and stroke and creates genetically engineered ES cells for these projects.

Mitra Lab: High-throughput DNA sequencing. Our ability to understand the consequences of genetic variation is strongly correlated with our ability to cost-effectively sequence DNA. By performing single-molecule amplification followed by cycles of single-base extensions with fluorescently labeled bases, we hope to dramatically reduce the cost of re-sequencing DNA.

Characterizing alternative splicing patterns in proteins that are the targets of pharmaceuticals. Recent studies (e.g. from the Lee and Johnson labs) suggest that alternative splicing occurs in 50-70 percent of all proteins in the human genome. What is the pharmacological impact of this observation? Do different splice forms interact in different ways with small molecule inhibitors and thus cause variation in drug response? As a first step to answering these questions and others like them, we are cataloguing variation in the mRNA splicing of genes that encode the targets of common pharmaceuticals.

How does the cell read information encoded in different regulatory motifs and/or chromatin structures and integrate them to produce a specific gene expression pattern at a specific locus? Recent years have seen dramatic gains in our knowledge of transcription networks. This has been due in part to new experimental technologies (e.g. genome-wide expression analysis, CHIP-CHIP), as well as advances in computational techniques to identify transcription factor binding sites. But, obtaining such a comprehensive view of transcription has also raised many new questions (or, in some cases, allowed us to more fully characterize old ones): Why do so many transcription factor binding sites appear inactive? How do TF binding sites interact to modulate transcriptional patterns? How much of a gene's expression is determined by nearby regulatory elements and how much is determined by the local state of the chromatin? How does genetic variation influence expression patterns of genes and through what mechanisms does it do so? We are designing experiments using the model organism S. cerevisiae that will help answer some of these questions.

Sherley Lab: Adult stem cell biological engineering: The major thrust of this BE laboratory is the integration of discovery and application research in the area of adult stem cell biology towards advances in cell and tissue engineering, gene therapy, cancer diagnostics, cancer treatment, and toxicology.

Principle Investigators (PI)

• Dr. George Church (PI): (617) 432-7405
• Dr. Rob Mitra (Coordinator): (314) 362-2751, rmitra@genetics.wustl.edu
• Dr. David Gottlieb
• Dr. James Sherley : (617) 258-8648, jsherley@mit.edu

Helpful Links

• Dr. George Church Lab [arep.med.harvard.edu]
• Dr. David Gottlieb Lab [neuroscience.wustl.edu]
• Dr. Rob Mitra Lab [genetics.wustl.edu]
• Genome Sequencing Center - Washington University [genome.wustl.edu]

Top of page

Last Reviewed: September 9, 2008