RNA Doctoral Program — DEV | University at Albany

Click a link below to skip to that section of the page:

Program Overview
Program Outcomes
How to Apply
Doctoral Training Leadership
Program Curriculum and Courses
Program Tracks
Seminars, Colloquia and Conferences
Training Program Stories

Program Overview

This novel, PhD-level training program for current University at Albany students provides a multi-disciplinary curriculum with a focus on RNA and its health relevance. We develop our future science leaders by providing students with access to faculty, techniques, and collaborations within UAlbany, including The RNA Institute, and the College of Nanotechnology Science & Engineering.

The participating students are selected from PhD programs within the UAlbany departments of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, and Chemistry, and Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Funded in part by a T32 NIH training grant, the program supports a comprehensive, intellectually rigorous, and individualized PhD training experience. The training program is run by The RNA Institute, which is housed in and sponsored by the UAlbany College of Arts and Sciences.

The program also offers resource-faculty with RNA interests from the UAlbany Mathematics and Physics departments. The participating faculty represents a unique assembly of RNA expertise, ranging from single-molecule biophysics and chemical synthesis to developmental biology and infectious diseases.

Visit the RNA Training Program Faculty Page.

An infographic explaining the department structure for the RNA Doctoral Program. Detailed alternative text is available in the accordion directly underneath this photo.

overview

Alternative Text for Infographic

The RNA Institute, University at Albany

Colleges

Colleges of Arts and Sciences
School of Public Health
College of Nanotechnology, Science and Engineering

Departments

The RNA Institute
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Biomedical Sciences
- Nanoscale Science and Engineering

Research and Training

Cutting-edge research
Flagship courses
Training tracks
- Entrepreneurship and Industry
- Publicized Science

Events

Hudson Valley RNA Club
STEMTriCS
Stranded in Science
Annual RNA Symposium
Life at the Interface of Science and Engineering

Marlene Belfort and student David Bunn - RNA Institute

Program Outcomes

Students will develop a basic understanding of RNA science and transform knowledge into technical applications.

Trainees have the unique opportunity to choose mentors in one of the four departments, participate in cross-departmental collaborations, and have faculty members from all four departments or Physics and Mathematics serve on their thesis committee.

We will thus ensure a broad experience that prepares our students for a wide range of career options.

outcomes

How to Apply for the Doctoral RNA Training Program

All admissions to graduate programs at the University at Albany are handled by the Offices of Graduate Education. UAlbany program deadlines and admission requirements can be found on the Graduate Programs webpage. Contact UAlbany's Graduate School at [email protected] or 518-442-3980 with questions about admission procedures.

You should in your application express interest in being selected for the RNA Training Program. Students will be admitted into the program after their first year of study in one of the PhD programs.

If you are admitted to our program, you will be asked to select several laboratories in which to do rotations before you join one for your PhD work.

Visit the previous and current cohorts of the RNA Doctoral Fellowship program.

apply

Doctoral Training Leadership

leadership

Program Directors

Dr. Marlene Belfort - Senior Advisor

Marlene Belfort is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has trained many PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, some of whom have pursued careers at prestigious universities and biotech companies. Dr. Belfort is experienced in administering NIH training grants.

Training Program Faculty Members

The RNA Training Program faculty includes members from four UAlbany departments Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry, and Nanoscale Science and Engineering. In addition, we have resource-faculty from the departments of Mathematics and Physics at UAlbany.

Visit the RNA Training Program Faculty Page.

Program Curriculum and Courses

curriculum-courses

Curriculum

The training program has developed a curriculum based on the national need for interdisciplinary training, in the general area of RNA Science and Technology in Health and Disease, to prepare students for jobs in academia, industry, government, communication, scientific foundations, and other private sector enterprises.

View the RNA Fellowship Checklist of Requirements.

First Year

Students in the program complete a series of core courses required of their home departments, followed by courses on specific topics of interest in subsequent years. Students also undertake research rotations during their first year and then select a research advisor. Students will usually be selected for the training program in the Spring (second) semester of their first year.

Second Year and Beyond

During their studies, trainees will take the two-semester RNA Flagship course. Other departmental electives can be selected. They will also present their work at the RNA Colloquium Program. At each colloquium given by an RNA Fellow they present on a topic that is broadly defined as the role of RNA in their research project or lab’s research area.

Students opt for the Entrepreneurship or Writing Workshop. Throughout their training, students will attend both their departmental and RNA-specific seminars.

Trainees, who are supported by teaching assistantships, will receive ample opportunities to teach. During their research training they will also be called upon to supervise undergraduates, allowing them to develop mentoring skills.

RNA Flagship Courses

The courses usually meet for 110 minutes twice a week over a 13-week period, for a total of about 48 contact hours per semester.

RNA in Development, Disease and Therapeutics (HBMS692)

Students will be introduced to the diversity of RNA molecules and their functions, and the therapeutic potential of RNA.

Physical and Chemical Principles in RNA Biology (BIO619)

Students will learn about common RNA techniques, experience application of these techniques in journal club discussions and get to use computer programs to process data or visualize molecules.

Rigor and Reproducibility (BIO515A)

Students will learn basic statistical approaches and data analysis methods to design high quality experiments and interpret and report data with confidence. Rigor and reproducibility training is also provided though workshops and discussion group during the Annual RNA Symposium and summer RNA Retreat.

Program Tracks

tracks

Entrepreneurship & Industry Track

Throughout a six-lecture workshop series students learn about and discus the process of deciding why and when it makes sense to commercialize scientific technology. Workshops focus on the patent process, when intellectual property should be protected, what constitutes inventorship and what gives a patent value.

Students dissect the patent process including how a patent is put together and the process of applying for a patent. In addition, students learn about what constitutes a claim set and what makes a patent strong or weak, using several issued patents as examples.

Publicizing Science Track

Science Writing

Scientists need not only write in lucid and creative ways, but to communicate their work to other scientists and to the public. Students trained to do experiments must be educated to write in ways that project their work and open doors to writing creatively in an increasingly competitive arena.

Science writing and communication constitute an important platform of education for RNA Trainees. They will have many opportunities to learn to write well including access to introductory courses, Communication in Science (BMS510) or Responsible conduct and Skills in Scientific Communication (BIO 515B) to promote effective scientific writing of journal articles and data presentation skills for posters and giving oral presentations.

Students will have even broader opportunities to hone their writing and communication skills through the New York State Writers Institute. The RNA Training Program and Writers Institute share common interdisciplinary goals including promoting creativity and critical thinking and a commitment to making something new.

Individuals who have written about science for a broader public and have visited the Writers Institute include premier scientists like Jon Beckwith, Michio Kaku, Eric Kandel, Steven Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, and V.S. Ramachandran, and science journalists such as Natalie Angier and James Gleick.

Science Communication with The Writers institute

Workshop: The science-writing workshop will consist of four 90-minute sessions with one session being held each month during the fall semester. All workshops will be led by Dr. Jill U. Adams. Dr. Adams is a scientific journalist and member of the National Association of Science Writers.

In the workshops, students will improve their own and each other’s science communication skills, primarily by learning to tailor communications to both the writers’ goals and their intended audiences. They will also learn about different science writing opportunities and careers. The expectation is that each fellow will produce a publication-worthy essay that could appear in the RNA Institute Newsletter, Trolley, the publication of the New York State Writers Institute, or similar publication. Dates and times of the workshops will be announced by Dr. Adams.

Popular science presentations: RNA fellows will attend at least one selected presentation related to popular science, sponsored by the renowned Writer’s Institute. Presentations will be announced once the Fall Writers Institute schedule is set.

Seminars, Colloquia and Conferences

seminars-colloquia-conferences

About

Scientific gatherings are invaluable to students, because they demonstrate how those highly skilled in a field present a seminar; expose students to basic approaches and principles which traverse disciplines; provide opportunities to discuss careers and decision-making processes; acquaint students with cutting edge, often unpublished, research results; and allow networking with scientists to increase job prospects.

RNA Fellows Colloquium

In tandem with the Hudson Valley RNA Club (HVRC), RNA fellows have the opportunity to strengthen their public speaking abilities and explain their research to a diverse audience. Sponsored by our industry partners, this key series adds to the RNA fellow's professional development in the program. Below are a few examples of past sessions RNA fellows have participated in.

Past Meetings & Events

December 15, 2020

Speaker: Jeff Hudson, Sales Manager at Lexogen
Title: Introduction of new Lexogen products

Speaker: Amber Altrieth, RNA Fellow (Mentor: Mindy Larsen),Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany
Title: Endothelial Cell Response to Salivary Gland Ductal Ligation

Speaker: Markus Landthaler, PhD, Group leader, Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC), Berlin
Title: Posttranscriptional regulation in cellular space and time